Black and White
by Mochytea
Summary: Every teen goes through an identity crisis. For raven anima Kuro, the cryptic words of her fellow slave are only the beginning: "Go to Astaria and find your true self." (Update 1/18/13: Important Author's Note: Should this be continued? You decide in the reviews!)
1. Prologue:

**Hey guys! So if you haven't noticed, I rewrote this whole prologue. Hope you enjoy it!**

**And to those who just opened this page up: please just try to read this whole chapter! Clicking on this story means you are somewhat curious as to what it's about, and this chapter does not really explain it. You've got to keep on reading, and I promise you, it gets much better. So please…read? And always review; authors never appreciate people reading and not leaving a comment. We love reviews and we love our readers, so…yeah.**

**This new, rewritten chapter is for TearsOfNightfall, who kindly helped me and gave me ideas to add. Love you! ^^**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own +Anima in any way, shape, or form. Which sucks. :'( But I do own every single one of my OCs. Muahahah.**

**My OCs: *sweatdrop**

**Enjoy!**

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The battlefield was barren. Torn flags fluttered in the wind like broken feathers of lifeless birds. Grisly corpses were strewn across the blood-stained earth, the air reeking of sorrow, fear, and death.

A small crowd of people stood in the middle of the ugly wasteland, their silhouettes dark against the setting sun. The sky appeared to be splattered with blood.

On the left was a huge, intimidating figure, wearing a flowing cape and a tall golden crown set with fist-sized jewels, flanked by two even larger guards. On the opposite side, a beautiful young woman dressed in pale pink silk, slowly being stained with mud and God-knows-what, knelt on the earth. Another man robed in equally fine clothes knelt beside her. They too were surrounded two guards with Asterian flags in their hands.

"Well, my dear friends…It appears that this battle's victory belongs to me." At the huge man's, Emperor Capricorn's, words, an army marched up from the hill behind him, and the ground thundered with their heavy steps and thick, metal spears. There was a cold glint in the monarch's eye as he spoke again. "However, I have a peace treaty just for you, my dear."

The young queen's weeping echoed across the land as she gazed upon the twisted bodies of her beloved soldiers. "Please, anything to keep my people from dying…"

"We can't trust these men, Lilac," her husband whispered. Then, to the cruel Sailish king, "Why are we fighting over the Moss Mountains anyhow? We have always let them be, but you! You and your selfish use of innocent people as slaves! Have you aimed for the Kim-un-Kur, the peaceful people of the mountains? What is the matter with you Sailanders?

The corner of Capricorn's mouth twitched, threatening to form a frown, but in his twisted mind, he was grinning. Grinning broadly at the ignorant young Asterian king's accusation. That reason was only a farce, just to force them into giving him that one thing, a thing of incredible, unknown power. And with the country of Kerr on his side, even if it's hardly even half the size of Sailand, their armies combined make them an unstoppable force.

"We all want this war to end, you know," declared Capricorn in a sickly sweet voice, "and this only will take a single sacrifice. Asteria has lost this battle, while Sailand and Kerr have won again. But I need only one thing: your first-born child." The queen looked up with despair as her hand instinctively went to her stomach. "How did you know?"

Capricorn smiled maliciously. "Oh, I have my ways. When is it due?"

Queen Lilac held up five shaking fingers. He grinned again and said, "Very well. When the child is one year old, we shall come for it. You will give it up cooperatively. If you refuse, then your country will be completely destroyed."

With a mocking laugh, he turned and marched away. The queen finally broke down, sobbing, her king clutching her tightly as he glared poisonous daggers at Emperor Capricorn's retreating silhouette against the bleeding sky.

* * *

Queen Lilac's labored breaths were one of the few noises in the chamber. The midwife gave her water and spoke confident, words of encouragement and a successful birth. The queen weakly smiled at her efforts; she had specifically chosen the midwife, Rowena, who was originally her psychic advisor. Not only were they close friends, Rowena gave many legitimate predictions for her and her husband, King Norm.

Suddenly, wails echoed from the birthing chamber, bouncing off the walls and down the corridor. The midwife smiled. "It's a girl!"

Queen Lilac smiled as well, but it faltered slightly as she remembered the horrible promise to Emperor Capricorn.

_When the child is one year old, we will come for it. If you refuse, your precious country will be totally destroyed._

She was awakened from her thought to hear a gasp from Rowena. "Twins!"

"What? Twins?"

"There is another girl, Your Highness", announced the midwife. She handed the two infants to the queen, which surprisingly had hair. After several minutes of crying, they calmed down and the midwife cleaned them. Then, they opened their eyes.

The queen gasped at their beauty. One had pure black hair and shimmering silver eyes, while the other's was a startling gold with soft white locks.

Rowena was equally stunned. "These two young princesses…these two are complete opposites. I see wings in their future, as well as pain and suffering, but joys of reunions and friendships.

"Thirteen years from now, a great power shall awaken within them, power that has been passed down to the next millennium: power that can change the world. In half a year's time, the last battle shall commence. There will be death, and there will be life. And in order for this future to take place, these twins must be separated. If not, it shall ensue in despair and darkness."

Rowena was sweating as she finished her prediction. The queen stared open-mouthed and wide-eyed; this forecast had been the longest and most intricate she has ever heard. Although she did not know of it, Capricorn's promise was clearly tied into the girls' fortune. _It is inevitable_, Queen Lilac sighed to herself as she gazed upon the two beautiful babies in her arms.

She knew she had to choose between her daughters. _This_, she thought to herself, _is and will probably be the most difficult decision of my entire life_. Finally, she decided to send away the black-haired child, since although it was custom for the first-born to be the heir, she was to give away her first-born baby. Not wanting to tempt fate, she handed the darker infant to the recovered midwife.

* * *

The dock seemed so peaceful, the sound of the ocean's waves crashing on the wood. _If only_, thought King Norm. He looked down at the beautiful black-haired child in his arms. She gazed back up, her silvery eyes shining like the moon. _Oh Kuro, forgive us. We cannot avoid sacrificing you, and it was you because you were the first-born. Do not hate your sister, Shiro, for being safe in Astar. It is not her fault._

Slowly but surely, an impending figure arose from the mist of the early morning. The crossed symbols of Kerr and Sailand appeared, flapping tall and proud, from the mast of the massive Sailish ship. The king watched with pain in his misty eyes as his tiny daughter was gently led onto the boat by a kind-faced slave. With a triumphant-sounding blow of the horn, the ship turned from the dock and was swallowed up by the fog. _Please, Kuro…forgive us._

**And yes, this is my first fanfic. Hope you liked it, and that you will press that pretty little button on the bottom of the screen that says 'Review Chapter' and/or press that equally pretty little button that says 'Next'.**

**Thanks for reading! And giant virtual cookies for those who review and keep reading! xD**

**~Wings**


	2. A Truth, a Plan

I knew I was different from the rest of them. Their skin, although they lived in a rather sunny place, was surprisingly light, with lighter hair and eyes. My skin was darker in comparison, with silver eyes and jet-black hair that absorbed every freaking ray of the sun.

Sweat dripped down my brow as I plowed the field. Marm, an elderly, fine line faced woman with twinkling blue eyes, glanced at me worriedly.

"Kuro, are you alright?"

I smiled tiredly and shook my head. I was thinking about something else.

"Guess what day it is, Marm!"

She looked at me quizzically, then remembered with a broad grin.

"Oh, how could I forget? It's your birthday tomorrow?"

"Hey, you two! Get back to work before I have to make you!"

The bastard overseer glared at us, pointed a fat sausage finger at us.

I turned to Marm and giggled quietly, then went back to the crappy field.

* * *

That night, Marm motioned me over to her side of the cramped, dirt wall room. All of the slaves had to stay in similar ones, though more were sardine-packed than us. I tiptoed over the sleeping bodies and squeezed myself into the corner next to her.

"You know, Kuro, I've been thinking about this ever since I met you. I know you don't belong here. Do you know that you are Astarian?"

I gasped and then clamped a hand over my mouth. Astarian? Really? I never knew!

"By your reaction, I see you did not," Marm replied with a smile. "Yes. You've noticed that you are a bit different from the others, no? That's because you were most likely kidnapped. We've had a shortage of war prisoners for slaves and the country had to resort to stealing. I'm telling you this because you have been taken out of your life unfairly. And I had come up with an escape plan."

"An escape plan," I whispered. I can actually leave this place? A thousand and one questions swirled around my mind, but I shut up-ed and listened.

"So here is what we will do. Tomorrow, there is a ship going to Astaria to deliver crops from this plantation. Since tomorrow we will be sent to the harbor to help, you will slip onto the boat and hide somewhere. A niche, a hole, anything. With any luck, you will go unnoticed and arrive safely into the country. The sailors, like most Astarians, do not approve of Sailand's ways and so will let you by freely."

It took a while for everything to sink in. The plan seemed so…so…realistic and yet too quiet for it to go smoothly. I felt that something may happen, but I said nothing after the look of pride on Marm's face.

"Yes, Marm…yes. I'll try."

She beamed at me, smiling ear-to-ear.

That's my girl. Good night now."

With that, she turned and closed her eyes.

I began to feel a ray of hope. _Maybe it'll actually work_.

Oh, I wished.

* * *

**Hey! kurochan here. If you don't like cliffhangers, sorry, but I like the effect. Please R&R, but if there's a problem with the cliffhangers I'll try not to make them.**


	3. And then there were Wings

"Get up, you lazy slaves! Now! Wake up! I said, wake up!"

_Ugh,_ I thought, _morning already?_

I stood up, the sleep still in my eyes. All around me, the slaves roused in a similar way; some sat up with their hands on their heads, while others got on their feet, shaking.

I looked next to me and saw Marm. She was already awake and helping some others stand. All of a sudden, I remembered the night before. It came back rushing to me; the truth about me, the escape plan. _Will it really work?_ Maybe. There's that slim ray of hope that it can.

It seemed perfect. Too perfect. Waaay too perfect.

We lumbered out the door like zombies. The overseers split us up into two groups: one for the plantation, one for the harbor. I walked slowly with Marm down the wind-beaten path, a cloud of dust drifting around our blistered, bare feet.

The sky was still dark. Well, it would be if it were five o'clock in the morning, but the mist and fog hung low and kissed the hard-packed earth. The air smelled wet and dangerous and of rain. Marm squeezed my hand and smiled, the wrinkles deepening on her weathered face. Her eyes twinkled, reminding me of the plan she cooked up.

The plan. I was so excited, yet so afraid. We finally reached the docks, the beautiful Astarian ship looming over us. Some of the slaves looked at her with hopeful eyes, but were interrupted as the fat overseer shoved them along. I thought, _will this be the ship that will take me home?_ And then I looked at her name. Painted in big, bold letters, she read: _Freedom_. With that, I knew that this will be my ticket home. At a price, as I later learned.

* * *

I suddenly remembered a question I wanted to ask. As I helped Marm with a couple of crates, I opened my mouth.

"Marm, what about you? I mean, when I get on the boat, will you come with me?"

Marm shook her head. "I'm too old to start a new life; this one's been on my shoulders since I was a little girl. No, you must go alone and find your true self."

I shivered with those words. Is there really somewhere I can be? Just then, I heard a yell.

"Number 37-69, report to the deputy's office immediately! Number 37-69!"

We looked at each other fearfully. This could delay the plan!

Nevertheless, I had to go. Worry was still in Marm's eyes as I left for the office.

* * *

The deputy was tall and lithe, unlike the other overseers. He wore the usual Sailand official clothing: a dark brown cloak that hung past his knees, a white cloth under that that reached his feet. A slender rope, also white, was tied around his waist, and he wore sandals woven with gold. Another white cloth was draped over his head for protection from the sun.

_Damn rich bastard_, I thought to myself, eying the riches in the wide room.

"Come, my child," the deputy said, leading me to a large balcony outside that faced _Freedom_.

_Okay, this is definitely sketchy. What is going on-_

I was interrupted in my thoughts.

"You must be so confused, child. Don't be. I am only here to tell you a legend, a legend of Astaria."

_What the heck?_

"See, long time ago, there was an evil man who ruled all of the countries on the world. He was ruthless and cruel, treating his people like they were cattle."

_That must be where you got your ways of treating us,_ I thought, looking at the deputy with a glare.

"So there was a young man, an Astarian, who fought his way to the king. It was a long and terrible fight, but the man who was so courageous and strong, defeated the king. He denied the power of holding all of the countries, though, and set them all free. Upon that selfless decision, he was granted power, power so great and unimaginable. Yet he was wise, and his rule was the Golden Age. His death, after seventy long, peaceful years, was greatly mourned. The world began to break up once more. The interesting thing is, every millennium, the child of the royal family of Astaria would be born with this great power for a new Golden Age every time, being able to use it on his or her 13th birthday. And you, my dear, are the next."

I was jolted from my day dreams with these words. Me, unimaginable power? But I'm just a slave!

"Yes you and that is why you were taken here!" The deputy looked at me with an evil glint in his cold, pale eyes. "I'd take that power from you to use it, but I am in league with our king. Of course, he wants the power, and to keep it from Astarian hands. I am to take you when you turn thirteen years of age to His Highness but first," he smiled like a snake contemplating his dinner before he kills it, "I am going to weaken you."

I began to step back warily. Weaken me? How?

"If I took you now, you will be too strong for these old bones. So I will have to make sure you won't run." And with those words he pulled a long, dangerously sharp dagger with a freaking jeweled handle from under his cloak.

Before I knew it, he brought it down on my left eye.

I instinctively moved back, so luckily, the blade didn't scratch my actual eyeball. But the lid was hit, the knife slashing down vertically. The blood dripped down and quickly sealed my left eye shut.

Ow.

I screamed in pain and surprise. The blow forced me to turn around and I was half-bent over the rail, gasping for breath. And then there were two, quick strokes on my back. I screamed again. The fire-like pain licked the long, cruel slices that scarred me.

I was on the floor, the dark red pool of blood spreading out under me. Just then, I heard a too familiar voice.

"Kuro, what's wrong- oh, my Lord!" Marm screamed as she saw my limp body on the ground. I managed to get up and then turned and looked at her. She was hobbling up a side set of stairs.

The deputy smiled. "Oh, another slave. Well, you just walked into your death, my fair lady. This can't be leaked out, you know." His sick words and thick voice aroused the fury within me. I started towards Marm.

"Marm…get away! Now!"

She hurried over to me and gave me a quick hug, while whispering those same, haunting words she told me before: Go to Astaria and find your true self."

Then she pushed me off the balcony.

I heard her scream and looked up; the treacherous blade was sticking hideously out of her back. She crumpled to the ground.

_No! Marm!_ Tears flew up from my eyes. But then I heard the strangely satisfying shriek of anger and frustration from the deputy.

_Well, I'm dead. Will I see her? Maybe._

And I remembered her wish: to be free.

I needed to live.

For Marm. For me.

And if that legend is true, for my people, the people of Astaria.

I looked up again, and that's when I saw the raven.

It was so pure, so alive, so _free_. It looked down at me and I shuddered.

I managed to flip over so I was falling face down.

I remembered that raven. _It's so lucky. It's alive, and it can fly. Why can't I do that?_

At the moment I thought that I felt a sharp tug on my shoulder blades.

Suddenly, I saw black feathers around me, and I stopped falling. I looked behind my with a gasp.

There were wings.

Pitch black and open. Just like the raven.

I felt unbelievable joy as I thought of the promise. _I can finally fulfill it. For Marm._

And with renewed strength and a new ability, I set out to sneak to the boat.

* * *

**Yeah, it's long…and I'm proud of it! I was waiting for a chance to be by myself with the computer to write this, and I got it! Yay! So R&R please!**


	4. In the Swiftness of Events

**Hey, kurochanwithwings here! Sorry for the long wait. I had stuff… Well, I made it extra long for you! Enjoy, R&R, you know what to do!**

**Disclaimer: Do I look like Natsumi Mukai? No. I don't own any publishing companies either, so don't bother me!**

I huddled by several large boxes, shivering. My wings were the only thing that kept me warm. But I knew that I had to learn how to put them away, so I focused on them disappearing. Soon, they were gone. I shuddered as I was slapped with another wave of frigid sea water and brought them out again. I had too much time alone, and the scenes with the horrid deputy replayed in my head. And Marm…Tears overflowed my eyes and blurred my vision as I thought about her and her words.

_Go to Astaria and find your true self._

My body ached all over. Around my eye, a fire burned, while another seared my back. I managed to bind my face, but the scars behind me were unreachable.

Time did not matter to me anymore. I wallowed in self pity as I rocked back and forth, my tired wings wrapped around my shoulders. Suddenly, they disappeared. They seemed too exhausted to stay out with the shine in the feathers dull and the feathers ragged.

I was utterly miserable.

The waves and the wind were strong but the rain never came. The storm (if it could be called a storm) shook the ship; the grey clouds and sea birds seemed to be mocking me. It was impossible to tell if the sun was up, or if the moon had risen, or if anything was behind the dullness at all. Nonetheless, the wind stopped screaming. The waves slowly receded as well as the clouds. And then I saw a ray of moonlight.

It was beautiful; I basked in that silver light, feeling hope and strength once more. But the wounds held me back and a fever started to burn. I keeled over, unconscious.

* * *

"Ahoy there! Land aheeaaaaaaaaaad!" I woke up with a start. Why was the overseer saying this? It was usually, "Get up, you dumb slaves!" or "Wake UP! You lazy bums, get up now!"

And then I realized where I was. _Freedom_, I thought, _that's where I am. Or heading to, at least._

I heard the rough voices of the crew, their loud, clumsy footsteps echoing on the deck. I pulled myself back into the little niche as I saw shadows inching their ways towards me.

"We better check to see if the boxes are alright…"

Aww, shit.

"Okay, it won't take long- what the heck?"

Two men, both seeming to be in their twenties, stared open-mouthed at me.

"Well, I'll be. A little girl!" The larger man spoke in a very gruff voice.

I stared back at them, my eyes wide and body trembling.

"Gond, go get the ship's doctor! Hurry!"

"Oh, okay, on it!" The larger man (again!) darted off clumsily, yelling, "DOCTOR! DOCTOR!"

The one with me shook his head. "That guy…he's going end up in prison someday."

I giggled, despite myself. The man looked at me in surprise, but said, "Hi, I'm Taff."

I simply stared.

He didn't seem surprised. Instead, he said, "You're not the only one to escape from Sailand on this boat."

_What?_

Taff smiled at my reaction. "That's right; we've had nearly four hundred slaves run off. I guess it's the name that makes them hopeful. It's a nice name, though."

"I think so, too," I replied hoarsely, "I'm Kuro."

"Nice to meetcha." There was a long, awkward silence. Then:

"Do you know anything about Astaria?"

Now _I_ looked surprised. I remembered that I had no clue about where I was going, except for the fact that it's a free country with no slaves.

"Well, I'll tell you about it. First of all, it's free, obviously. It's also cooler than Sailand, both climate-wise and status-wise." He winked at me and I grinned.

He told me about the classes of people in Astaria, which was a bit different from Sailand, I thought. He talked about the food, the animals, the geography, and so much more. I actually relaxed with Taff there on the boat. Finally, I remembered my wings. What was I exactly? I decided to risk a question.

"Taff?"

"Mhmm?"

"I was wondering- I mean, have you seen anyone with wings? What they are called?"

He looked surprised and replied, "You mean angels?"

"No, people with all kinds. And maybe people who have, like, ears and tails and stuff?"

"Oh, you mean +Anima. I don't think a lot of people really know them, but I've read a book about them."

"What are they?"

"They are people, according to the scientist, who have animal-like abilities. It could be any animal in the world: wolves, bears, fish, anything. +Anima usually have a tattoo or birthmark and by seeing one, you could tell what kind it is. Though I bet that whenever people see one, they think it's just a normal tattoo."

I rubbed my shoulders; that was where I felt the dull throb from after falling. Falling…

"How do you become one?"

Taff spoke quietly when he answered. "There are two known ways to become a +Anima. One, you have to be a child, 14 years or younger."

"And the other…?"

"You have to be extremely close to death."

Flashes of memories danced around in my mind. The stabbing, the evil grin, Marm pushing me, that awful feeling of falling and falling and never landing…I shivered violently; it was all I could do from not clasping my hands to my head and curling up into a ball.

"Kuro! Are you okay?"

At his words, I snapped out of my spasm. I smiled weakly. "Memories."

His gaze became worried, and he gently patted my head. "It's okay, now. You're in good hands." **(for some reason, I thought of the Allstate commercial. Get it? He said, 'Are you in…' oh never mind.)**

Just then, Gond came running back. "Taff, little girl, the doctor's open for you!"

"Well, time to go," Taff said.

Gond ran ahead. When did he ever _walk_? Oh well.

We trudged quietly down the deck. Then I decided to tell him, though it might have been incredibly stupid. "Taff?"

"Yeah?"

"I…"

"!"

I covered my ears at the bullhorn of the ship.

"Yeah," Taff asked again.

"I…I…My eye hurts."

"Oh, we'll get to the doctor soon."

"Okay."

* * *

I left the boat, tossing my newly cut hair in the sea breeze. My wounds were stitched up, though the doctor said it would leave scars. Oh well, it doesn't matter.

I looked back. The crew waved excitedly as I stepped onto the solid ground. Oh, soft, Astarian ground!

I waved happily and walked down the well-beaten path into the woods in front of me, a new pack filled with provisions. I wore a jacket over my slave's clothes, as they had no new garments especially for a girl.

The forest was quiet and peaceful._ I could really enjoy this_, I thought. I let my wings out, the beautiful black feathers dancing in the wind.

And then I heard the scream.

I rushed ahead and hid behind a large bush. There, in front of me, was a girl. With wings. Swallow wings, to be exact. Two men in long white coats lassoed a rope onto her leg and was trying to bring her down. She kicked one in the face and screamed again, her long, light brown hair blowing in every direction.

_She needs help_, I thought, _but what could I do_? I saw a large tree branch besides me, about four feet long and thick, but light enough for me to swing. I tiptoed to the men, then _whack_, nailed one guy right on top of the head and _crack,_ the other in the temple. The branch snapped in two.

"Nice heads they've got there, the weenies," I murmured, admiring my handiwork. The other girl collapsed on the ground, breathing hard. Her eyes were bright and wild and confused, all at the same time.

"You're a +Anima!" The girl gasped.

I gasped back. "How did you know?" I looked around, seeing if my wings were out.

"I can see people's +Anima. Well, if they have it. Thanks for saving me from those idiots; I'm Swift."

"I'm Kuro."

I examined Swift. Her eyes were, strangely, blue and brown. Her wind-tossed light brown hair was now pulled back into a ponytail, her bangs falling over her eyes. She wore a short yellow skirt with leggings and a white and black tank top. On her feet were elevated traveling sandals.

She must have examined me too, because she grasped my arm and said, "We need to get you some new clothes!" And with that, she swiftly whisked me away.

* * *

"That looks perfect," the assistant squealed.

I stood in the huge mirror with Swift behind me. After she hurried me off to the nearest town, she threw me into a pile of clothes. I found myself wearing a black vest and a long, light blue T-shirt with a slender belt around my waist. Black shorts that reached the tops of my knees hugged my legs, and I had black traveling boots the nearly reached all the way to the back of my knees. Nice. I noticed the thin but vibrant scar down my left eye. I remembered the deputy and shuddered, then recovered quickly as Swift hauled me away from the mirror.

"Do you even have money for this?" I thought this question would stop her, but she smiled instead.

"I used my wonderful old pick pocketing skills and snatched the bastards' wallets." I sighed. She paid and we stepped out of the clothing store and went to a bakery for some food.

"Where are we even going to go," I asked her as we sat on a bench, munching."

Swift looked painfully at me. "I lived in the town of Swallow; I guess you can tell that's how I got my +Anima. There's about a million of them there. Those guys were after +Anima, and when they found out that there were none in my hometown, they shoved me off the cliff's edge…" Her voice ended in a tremble. I patted her gently, remembering my own horrifying experience. "They found me after that, and then I met you. But I know I can't go back there because I'll be turned out. So I want to find a place to be able to live comfortably." I thought of that too. But I knew I had my own purposes for being here.

"I'll travel with you. I have a reason to go, too, but I don't want to tell you yet. Is that okay?" Swift nodded knowingly.

Then, something caught my eye.

"Hey, look over there! Is that a fight," I asked. A man near me heard and answered, "It's those boys. They teased the one in the middle, and look now." He sounded exasperated, like it happened every day. It probably did.

I looked at the one in the middle. He had spiky, sandy colored hair that was pulled back with large goggles around his hairline and oddly clear blue eyes. He sported a tan tank top and baggy, darker tan pants held up with a fat heavy belt. He also had iron-toed mining boots with which he just shoved into one of the boy's gut. Score one for desert boy.

Policemen began running up to the fight, when I heard a whisper in my ear, "He's a mole +Anima! And blind."

_That's why his eyes were weird_, I thought. "Well, Swift," I said, turning to her, "we should probably go help him or something, right?"

She agreed.

I heard the argument.

"…He started it!" One of the five, _much _bigger boys complained. The policemen look disbelieving at the +Anima.

"Oh, I'm blind, for crying out loud!" He stared at the policemen with unbelievable accuracy.

I decided to run in.

"Yo! What are you doing?"

I hurried into the circle.

"Huh, what?" The boy looked around then at me, confused. Everyone else was too.

I took a deep breath and replied, "Mom's looking for us. She said that lunch is ready." I crossed my fingers and stared.

One of the bullies retorted, "You look nothing alike! Stop lying!"

"Well, _duh_. We're adopted, peanut brain!" There were a few snickers from the crowd.

I turned to the policemen. "Sorry, sirs, but Mom is calling us. Can we leave? And yes, they started it. I saw it," I said sweetly. The policemen looked surprised, but nodded their approval. They then turned to the other boys with glares. I grabbed my 'brother' and ran back through the crowd, the bullies cussing after us. I grabbed Swift as well and rushed back into the forest.

We stopped when we were sure that no one would see us and caught our breath. Then the boy looked up suspiciously. "Who are you people?"

"I'm Kuro and that's Swift. We're +Animas too. Nice to meet you."

I watched him as he looked at us, the suspicion leaving his sightless blue eyes. Then I broke the silence and asked, "If you have nowhere to go, do you want to travel with us?"

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere."

"Well, _that _sounds promising. Sure, why not."

"What's your name?"

The boy hesitated before he answered. "I'm Rez."


	5. The Wolfman Howls at Night

**So, disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer. I'm thinking of two more friends to add, so if anyone has preferences or anything for the +Anima please PM me! Thanks for reading, guys!**

We walked along the dirt road quietly, everything seeming extremely awkward. When it was just Swift and me, we were able to talk easily but with Rez with us, it was just...awkward. The three of us finally stopped at a clearing an hour later. Swift built a small fire and Rez came back with three small fish, obvious triumph on his face.

We ate in silence, with the occasional wince from a burned finger. Just then i remembered something from the fight we rescued him from.

"Hey, Rez?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering: how did you know where to kick when those boys caught you? How were you able to look the policemen in the eye? And these fish! How did you catch them if you're BLIND?"

My quiet questions ended up as a tidal wave of interrogations. There was a long pause after i finished talking. I felt the blood rush to my face as I looked at the expressions of my companions.

"Well, I _would_ like to know", I protested weakly. It was a total dot-dot-dot moment.

Finally, Rez spoke out. "I'm…kind of able to sense the vibrations through my sense of touch. It lets me see the general shape of things, like right now, Swift just dropped her stick of fish. Smooth." Swift looked up, her face turning red as well as she picked up it up, now covered with tiny specks of dirt. "Shut up", she muttered, making Rez and me snicker.

"I can't see colors or specific details of anything, but it gives me a pretty good idea where things are. That way, I don't break my neck or something tripping over some random rock. It was right after gaining my +Anima powers."

There was more silence, and suddenly Rez fell off the log onto his knees, clutching his head. His body trembled and his unseeing eyes grew wide.

"Rez, Rez! What's wrong?" Swift and I hurried to his side and put our arms around him. I felt his thin frame shivering uncontrollably from whatever crossed his mind. I was confused at first, but then I recognized his actions. He was remembering, remembering what had happened to him that caused him to turn into a +Anima. I knelt beside him and spreading my wings, I gently laid an arm on his shoulders and a coal black wing around his back. Swift quickly did the same, her grey and blue one on top of mine. We shared the warmth and comfort of company until his shaking slowly came to an end. When Rez looked up, he saw us around him and quickly shook us off not unkindly, but his face was red. I told him quietly, "If you want and when you are ready, you can tell us what happened." Swift added, "It works, you know. Takes a load off your shoulders." She glanced at me with a knowing smile. After several minutes, Rez took a deep breath and began to speak.

* * *

"I lived in a mining town called Goldrock. It was in a desert location, but we drew water from groundwater and grew crops adapted to the sand. Our main source of income was the mines in our town. We excavate small gems. They don't cost too much, but they're plentiful so their numbers make up for the quality. We haven't tapped into even two fifths of our mines, but we still have an abundant source. The mines are pretty sturdy, so there were no deaths there, only a few minor injuries. But, of course, there was an exception.

"When a boy is twelve years old, he is old enough for a job. Usually, though, he would work in the mines, which is exactly what I did. I went down with my father about a year ago and I had strong senses, making me useful underground. The amount of gems I excavated was mind-boggling in our town, some of them bigger than the average one. But not too long ago, there was an accident. I was digging in an older section of the mine since I felt that there would be a whole cluster of them in that wall. My father warned me about exploring the more ancient parts of the underground, but then I ignored his advice. Finding so many gems had gotten to my head and I wanted more to support myself. That's when the mine began to collapse.

"Everyone except me and my father had evacuated the mine. I wanted to grab at least one fat jewel before the gem-abundant mine was destroyed. And then, the entrance was blocked. I knew we were in trouble now. Suddenly, a beam fell from above and I thought I was going to die when my father shoved me out of harm's way. He was crushed right before my eyes. I fell through a hole after that and the dust and (ironically) flecks of the gems I had tried to get out got into my eyes and blinded me. Before I was buried alive, I became a mole +Anima and dug my way out way past the town. I saw them bringing out my father's broken body and then I knew I couldn't stay. I adapted to my new condition and quickly developed my senses which enable me to 'see'. But, it was my entire fault. My own greed had killed my father and changed me entirely. He died! To save me, he died! And in front of me…" Right then, Rez burst into tears again. The sobs racked his body and he brought his calloused hands to his face. "Shh, shh, shh," Swift and I chanted as we embraced him again. This time, he didn't push us away.

For several more minutes we sat there, a huge feathery mass, until Rez stood up and shook his wild mane of hair. "But I know now that I have to move on. Even though I may never see my town again, my father is the kind of man who will forgive, and I know he forgives me." I admired his strong heart and mindset, and I wondered, will I ever recover like that too? Oh, Marm…

* * *

We continued along the dirt road through the forest the next morning. After another meal of fish (I will never know how Rez caught those) we packed our belongings and walked on. Rez glanced at me and I looked back, confused. Finally, he said, "Nice scar. Could _you_ tell me what happened?" I jumped, then tried very hard not to shake as he did as Swift began, "Don't force it out of her, she doesn't want to say yet-"

"AROO!!!"

A loud howl broke her off and I silently thanked whatever made that noise. What _did_ make that noise anyway? Sounds familiar…

"It's here again! Watch out; he has claws and fangs! It's the devil!" Ahead, I heard a shout from up ahead. A mob?

And indeed it was. It was a small crowd of men, all holding some kind of weapon: a pitchfork, a spade, or a poorly made spear. What are they hunting? We slowly walked up to them, and Swift asked, "Hey, what's going-" One of the men quickly covered her mouth, and I immediately bristled. The man said, "Hush."

We were brought to the town for 'protection' and the man, apparently the mayor or head or something told us the story.

"Not long ago, our livestock, mostly chickens and ducks, were being picked off, once a week. We thought it to be a fox, so we laid traps. But when we checked them, they have been cleverly evaded, with small stones inside. So we decided that it was something else. We had a few watchmen carefully monitor our birds, and we saw something extremely strange, something that only seemed to be in the legends: a wolfman! Half man, half wolf." I glanced at Swift and Rez, and Swift mouthed, _wolf +Anima_. Well, _duh_. I knew then that we had to make sure that this +Anima leaves.

"…but these people seemed extremely suspicious, so we'll have to be careful," I finished. "Yeah, if they see you they'll think you're the angel of death or something dumb," remarked Rez. We laughed at the idea. We just finished a small dinner, rooming in the local inn. "But seriously. We have to find that guy," said Swift, and we nodded in agreement. "Our job starts in ten minutes, so let's go." We landed a job for watching for the 'wolfman' so we can have a good opportunity to catch him.

The moon was full and bright, giving us a clear view of the coop and the pond. For two hours we watched chickens peck each other and ducks chase each other across the pond then float away again. Rez and Swift fidgeted continuously but I sat still. Years of slavery taught me stillness or bruises. I chose stillness. Suddenly, there was a rustle. "It better not be another false alarm again," muttered Rez. Thankfully, it wasn't. There, standing in the silver light, stood the 'wolfman'.

He wore normal clothes, a light brown vest with short, loose sleeves, and black lacing under the collar, with a white, long-sleeved shirt underneath. His pants were loose and darker, almost black, and bundled right under the shin, like mine. Both garments were not frayed or extremely dirty, meaning that he wasn't living in the forest for too long. He had thick, russet-brown hair tied back into a small ponytail with bangs covering forest green eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness. The 'wolfman' was no older than us, I was surprised to see. As soon as he stepped into view, I quietly walked out of the building, slowly spreading my wings. He widened his eyes, but did not move. Rez and Swift walked out as well as they showed their +Anima too, not wanting to scare him. Trust began building in him as we slipped towards him. I opened my mouth to speak when suddenly-

"AHA! AHA! You three are part of this too, aren't you!" We all whirled around as the mayor/head/leader guy and his mob ran up to us.

"Monsters! Get them!" "AHHHH!" The wolf +Anima grabbed my wrist and hurried me away, with Rez and Swift right behind us.

"I know where you guys can escape. You and the other girl fly to the town three miles from here, and the boy dig. I'll lead them out," he whispered. My eyes widened like his before. "But what about you?" You'll be caught," I whispered back.

"I can't leave here yet. I'm not done with this place," he replied bitterly. I shivered at his tone and expression as he said that.

"But we can't leave you…It's not safe here for you!"

The boy groaned. "Then I'll tell you where I'm living right now. Go east five and a half miles from here and look for a cave with two big bushes in the front. GO!"

Swift and I took off; Rez drilled into the ground and cleverly covered the hole behind him. I heard his howl, like the one before. But this time, it was full of strength and new life, and maybe even determination to protect us. I wondered what his name was. Just then, I heard a voice in my mind. _Don't be alarmed, it's me. The 'wolfman'. _He snickered at the last thought. _Yeah. I can read minds and vice versa. I don't know why, but it's pretty useful in times like this._ I silently agreed. _And by the way, I'm Tsume._

As we flew away, I wondered about these skills. Rez can sense vibrations, Swift can see +Animas, and Tsume can read minds and speak through them. Is there like, a connection? Will I ever get a skill like theirs? I may never know, but as long as we're together, it won't matter. What matters now is whether or not Tsume will make it. Speaking of…

I looked back and gasped. There he was, the superstitious crowd overcoming him. I could barely see his clawed hand disappear under the mass of people.

"I have to go," I yelled and wheeled around. Ignoring the hollers from Swift, I folded my wings and streaked down like a bullet. I whipped out the two foot, diamond-hard knife that Taff had given me before slashed downward with the flat of the blade on the nearest idiot.

"TSUME!!!"


	6. Three New Anima

**Thanks to Mouchies for the suggestion for a new +Anima, and special thanks to:**

** Kaykat for helping me with the new +Anima's +Anima and personality!**

** Jonzz for all her support from the very first reviews!**

**Oh, and the bold in the text (in case you haven't noticed) are my comment things, kay?**

**Okay, I'll shut up now. Enjoy!**

* * *

Tsume's POV

I got a glimpse of Kuro as the people jumped on me. What a girl. With her blade catching the torchlight and her black raven wings, she looked like a messenger of Death. I could have sworn her silver eyes turned red. I shivered just thinking about it.

_Damn these people_, I thought, annoyed. I tried to throw some of the attackers off me, but their kicks and punches held me down. At least there were no knives…wait! What the heck-

I felt a sharp pain as a jagged dagger slashed across my stomach, the ugly red liquid dripping from the wound. I spat out blood and managed to knock the knife down. As I stumbled under the cloak of humans I thought about my +Anima; it saved my life once, can it save it again? Just then, I heard an ear-splitting screech—I winced as I covered my extra sensitive ears—and suddenly saw light again. There she was; the long knife was covered with blood. Did she kill some of them? As if to answer my question, another man lunged towards her, but she swung and knocked him out with the flat of the blade. _Thank God_.

Kuro grabbed my wrist and pulled me up and out of the mob of townspeople and began to fight. I was transfixed by her appearance; she was truly like a demon. Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear.

"Tsume! Pick up your wolfy ass and move it!" she hollered, waking me up.

Automatically, I snapped back, "Then get your buttfeathers out of the way and stop hogging them!"

There was no time for more retorts; in a huff she grabbed me around the waist and started to take off. I felt my face flush as I felt her breath against my wolf ears, and once more I cursed the stupid blood. I soon remembered my history here and opened my mouth to yell in fury. My fury was cut short as I felt a fat, plump hand wrap around my ankle and yank me down. I hit the ground hard (but no broken bones) and Kuro landed on top of me. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks again as I stared into her silver eyes. I noticed a similar blush on her as well and she leapt off of me quickly.

The mayor/leader guy's face was red too, though not for our reason. He was furious and triumphant, pulling down the 'demons' from the sky. He raised a butcher's knife and pointed it at us. We were frozen. I screamed at Kuro and my legs, _Move, you stupid idiots, move_ with no avail. In a sudden flash of feathers, the other girl had slammed her boots into the back of his head. His eyes bulged as he fell. The girl, Swift, gave me a wink and a toothy grin as she landed on the leader guy's back. _These are _some _scary girls,_ I thought as I saw them high-five.

What about that other guy, Rez? I searched the crowd with my mind and found him. I discovered a plan; he had dug around the entire area and it was beginning to cave in!

* * *

Kuro's POV

After celebrating with Swift, I turned to see Tsume, his face panicky.

"What, what happened?" I yelled.

"It's that Rez guy! He's dug a tunnel around the perimeter and it's starting to collapse!"

In that instant, I grabbed him around the middle again, with Swift clutching his legs. I tried not to think of the first failed attempt to escape and flew off again. As we flew, I heard a rumbling, like an earthquake rumble, and then a _foomph_, **(like the sound of a really fat blanket hitting the ground)**

I decided not to look back when I heard a distant sound in my head.

_What about Rez?_ It was Tsume, I quickly realized.

_Um, he'll be fine, just tell him to get to the lake 2 miles ahead_, I replied as I saw the large body of water reflecting the silver moon.

_On it_, he replied, his voice much clearer.

We finally landed on the dirt ground by the lake and set Tsume by a large tree. He winced as his blood flowed again, staining the thin, torn rag of a shirt. Swift, who seemed to know first-aid as well as taste in clothes and pick pocketing, quickly grabbed a roll of bandages (she probably stole those too). Rez popped out of the ground right after that, and Swift told him to boil some water. After soaking the bandages in the heated liquid, she carefully laid them on Tsume's wounds, especially the one on his belly. Collapsing from exhaustion, we all fell asleep.

* * *

I smelled fish again as I arose. Again, Rez was awake, poking at the roasting critters. I will never, ever know how he makes a fire or catches fish.

Soon, the rest of the gang began to wake up, yawning and stretching on the way. We balanced the fish on large flat leaves resting on flat slabs of rock in our laps. **(let's give a cheer for prepositions!)** We ate quietly, the only noises being munching on the flesh or a curse from burned fingers. Tsume stayed stiff as he picked at the fish, his eyes blazing in the same way they did before the fight. **(See chapter, um, um, 5, The Wolfman Howls at Night)**

I decided to interrogate. "Hey, Tsume—"

"Why?" The word rang out across the clear blue lake and echoed in our ears. "Why did you save me? I told you, I couldn't leave!"

He was yelling now. The fish fell from his lap and was already covered with greedy ants.

"They ruined my life," he said as his voice shook. "My father was like me—a +Anima—and they killed him for the same reason they wanted me. I ran away with my mother, and I watched her die in front of me. I became a wolf +Anima and lived. I need revenge!"

"Tsume…" I muttered.

"You guys probably don't understand! You don't understand what it's like to be hated and wanted dead, and—"

He froze as he saw our faces darken. I knew Swift and Rez was reliving their moments, and I remembered Marm. Oh, Marm…

My thought was cut short by an outburst from Swift.

"Why do you think we're here? Just to run away from doting parents and best friends? Do you think we'd leave a perfect life just for fun? Listen, _mutt_, I was forced to turn into a +Anima. I didn't choose to change. I couldn't stay. When I tried to come back, I was freaking _kicked_ out of my town. They hate +Anima too. Rez left because his people thought he _killed_ his own father in a freak accident (here Rez stiffened). He didn't want to leave! And I'm pretty sure Kuro had her reasons to leave too! You're not alone!"

She took a breath and continued, "I wanted revenge too. I hated my neighbors when they suddenly turned on me. But revenge isn't everything. It kills your heart and hardens it, and you get nothing in return. No one will come back. Nothing will change. The only thing that changes is you. I learned this from my father, and when I met Kuro, somehow, I felt hope again."

Swift smiled at me, and I grinned back. Tsume seemed taken aback from her sudden rant. His brow furrowed as he calculated something in his mind. _I_ don't read minds; I wouldn't know. Finally, he stood up. He seemed upset by Swift's logic but said, "Fine. I'll stay with you guys. But I still hate them, and _you_ can't change that." With those wise words of knowledge, Tsume turned and disappeared into the forest. I knew he would come back.

Rez added with a smirk, "Oh, he'll change. Definitely."

* * *

The next day, we traveled down the path until we came to an intersection. I turned to Rez and consulted him.

"Which way should we go?"

He looked at the signs and said, "Well, it's getting colder so let's travel south."

_That's where Astar, the capital, is_, I thought and remembered the words Marm told me before the…incident.

**Flashback**

_"Marm," I asked._

_ "Yes?" she replied._

_ "Um, where should I go if—once I get to Astaria?"_

_ "Hmm", she replied, tapping her chin the way she does when she thinks. "Astar."_

_ "Astar?"_

_ "It's the capital of Astaria. Who knows, maybe you will meet the monarchs there!"_

_ "Oh, Marm…"_

**End of Flashback**

"The closest city is Port Lome. Not quite south, but it's the quickest detour."

Rez's voice snapped me out of my memory.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" cheered Swift, and we set off to the port city.

* * *

The city was not very large, but it was very active. There were some hollering ads about their wares, while shoppers tried haggling down prices. The action was so vibrant I almost missed a sight that was definitely out of place. A sinister-looking man was shoving two kids dressed in odd clothes into an alley. I turned to the gang and told them what happened. Agreeing to help, we slipped pass the oblivious people and into the alley.

It led to another side of Port Lome. The pass was so thin, it was no wonder that the man nearly escaped without notice. We hurried down the narrow passageway and saw another harbor. But this scene was terribly wrong.

The two children, Kim-un-kurs I guessed, were fighting the same man, along with more musclemen with shiny bald heads. They both had gray hair and eyes, though the older girl had bright red streaks. She wore a short tan cloak with fringes around her shoulders. A lighter tan shirt was tucked into a decorated skirt with the same fringe. It hung around mid-thigh, like Swift's, and bruised white boots protected her feet all the way to her knees. The younger boy with slight brown and black highlights had on a much longer, fringed cloak that covered his torso, with a similar long-sleeved shirt and dark brown pants tucked into the same kind of boots. Both had a black beaded belt around their waists, along with the green beads woven into their hair. **(Like Senri's boots. They are COOL.)**

But now was not the time to gape, because they were +Anima, a raccoon and a fox **(can you guess which is which? Huh? Well you'll find out anyway). **

Without warning or plans I rushed out, my wings behind me and blade in hand. To my surprise, one of the men merely swatted me into a wall like I was a fly. I knew immediately I was being excessively _dumb_, for several of my feathers were broken or bent. I couldn't fly now.

Two more looming men approached me, greed in their eyes. I could tell they wanted to sell me, perhaps to Sailand or Kerr. They mumbled to each other and to the man who took the Kim-un-kur children. One began to lift me by the throat. In pain, I let my wings disappear and I hung limp in his grasp.

_No. I can't go back. Not after coming all this way!_ But how could I escape? I was flightless. I couldn't imagine how I lived before without my wings, but it was terrifying. I frantically thought to Tsume, _you and everyone, STAY PUT. If you come out, they will sell you, but they'll have to dig you up first because I would have killed you._

The man was tying up my hands and feet (and my back, in case of my wings).

_No._

He was putting me in a sack, the children being treated in a similar way.

_No._

He was trying to tie the bag.

_NO!_

I felt the same tingle from getting my raven +Anima. This time it was on my neck, and I felt the new animal survival instincts pushing through. My fingernails turned into hard, three-inch long claws that slashed open the sack. My teeth turned into long, sharp fangs that bit into the man's arm. Two pointed, black ears replaced my human ones, enhanced vision replaced my human one, and a long black tail uncurled from the base of my spine.

The man cried out in pain, and in lightning speed I freed the children. I was as fast on the ground as I was in the sky. My claws and fangs cut through flesh like a hot knife through butter, and my ears and eyes allowed me to catch the slightest movement, the faintest sound.

Excellent.

"Rez, Swift—sink the ships but close to the shore! Tsume, get over here and help me!"

The mole +Anima and the swallow +Anima took off for the beach, and Tsume quickly changed and was at my side in an instant.

"Pretty kitty," he teased, and I hissed automatically.

"Shut up and help."

We tied up the men after knocking them out with my handy-dandy knife and left a messy note in front of them. Then, I let out a scream, and then ran into the forest with the new kids while I heard footsteps approaching the alley.

Finally, we got to a river and collapsed there. Breathing hard, everyone lay down and relaxed. After what seemed like an eternity, we all got up.

"You guys okay?" I asked the two kids.

"Yeah. I'm Riley, and this is my little brother Koh," said the older girl. She seemed like a strong spirit, her fox ears and tail stiff. The boy nodded in response to his name. "He doesn't talk much, but he's nice. If you don't make him mad," she added.

The gang simultaneously looked at Koh, who smiled innocently at us. Swift squealed (like a fangirl), while Tsume and I sighed and Rez looked extremely confused.

"Um…thanks for saving us. How can we repay you?" asked Riley. She looked older, like fourteen or fifteen, and her brother around ten.

"Well…you can join us," I replied with a smile.

"But do you have to keep out your +Anima? There are people who don't like it," said Tsume with a scowl.

"I like it out, thank you very much! I hide my tail but my ears stay under the bandana." She glared at Tsume and whipped out a multi-colored cloth similar to her skirt. Expertly she tied it around her head and the thick folds covered the russet-colored ears.

"That settles it then! You're one of us!" squealed Swift, giving Riley a squeeze. Riley looked at her in mock horror as she muttered, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

* * *

**Mystery guy's POV O_o**

"Well, Kuro, you are doing fine now! But I guarantee it won't stay that way. It won't. Not after coming all this way for you…"

* * *

**Sorry for being so late! Too much state testing…**

**Tsume- Stop lying! I know you are! You were just too lazy!**

**Kuro- Exactly!**

**Me- Shut up! It's 12:05 AM right now! YOU CALL THIS BEING LAZY??**

**Tsume- Last minute, you mean.**

***Kicks Tsume* (Kuro- Tsume!)**

**Well, it's nice and long, so I hope you enjoy! Please R&R so I know you at least read it! Not too many flames? Please?**

**And if there's anything to add, please PM me. This will be the end of the character harvesting okay? Well probably...**


	7. The Bond between the Sky and the Earth

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait. Too much homework…**

**Well this is a filler for all of you Rez and Swift and Rez/Swift fans (if I have any….) cause I can't think of the main story right now, so enjoy!**

"Hey guys! Time to wake up!"

"Argh!" I covered my sensitive ears as I heard Swift's piercing voice echo around the clearing we all were camping in. _I swear, one day, she is going to pop my damn eardrums. Then __**that**__ will suck,_ I thought to myself, pissed.

I got up, pushing up my protective goggles onto my head, and ran my hand through my wild mane of hair. I felt several tiny pebbles and maybe a couple of ants. Now that's just nasty.

Through my strange vision I looked around me. I saw four other figures on the ground, the chests rising up and down in an even rhythm. Though I didn't know which ones were which, I assumed that they were sleeping. Near them, I saw another figure crouched on the ground, poking at something that sounded and smelled like fire. I guess that's Swift.

"I'm going to go catch some fish and wash off, okay?" I called to her. She stood up and yelled back jokingly, "Don't get lost and don't fall in!" **(One of my teachers always says that if you need to go…=_=)**

I sighed under my breath, and then walked down the beaten path. The melodies of birds floated among the branches of the trees. Tiny insects' buzzes constantly filled my already abused ears and several small creatures rustled the leaves as they leapt past.

When I got to the river, I stripped down to my underwear and slipped into the water. It was cool and damp, feeling good against my dusty skin. Then, I dunked my head and felt all of the dirt and grime wash away from my hair. I opened my eyes. Not that it made any difference, of course. I had tried washing out the flecks that stole my sight, but they refused to budge. The water messed up my 'sight', giving me brief flashes of the underwater rocks and plants. Suddenly, my brain reminded me that I wasn't a fish +Anima, and though moles can hunt underwater, they can't stay down forever.

I broke the surface of the water, gasping for breath. When I finally relaxed, I set up my equipment to fish. **(Rez- Muahaha! I will never reveal the secret of my fishing to the likes of you!)

* * *

**

I successfully managed to string several slippery fish on my makeshift spear. Content, I continued walking on the forest trail back to the clearing when I heard the rapid beating of wings. A bee? A hummingbird? No, I heard someone breathing hard—

"AGGHHHH!" I screamed as a huge, heavy mass slammed into my back, interrupting my train of thought. I did a face plant flat on the ground, whatever hit me shivering on me.

"Get off, dammit!" I snapped as I tried to peel my face off of the path. When I turned around, I 'looked' at the thing that knocked me over. It had wings, with a tail divided in two like a swallow. A swallow…and the shape is familiar…

"Swift? What are you doing—"

"Shut up! Don't attract attention," she interrupted again, "it's _them_." Them? Oh, she told me: the Astarian scientists…Shit! I knew she was terrified of them, as they had forced her into her transformation. As if to confirm, I felt her shivering uncontrollably in my arms. I felt my face flush; ugh, why? The tiny damp spots soaking through my tank top meant that she was sobbing quietly. I listened carefully, putting my poor and sore ears **(hey, that rhymes!)** to use. In a matter of seconds, I heard low voices, which told me that there were four of them, and the dull thuds of their boots. Then, one of them exclaimed, "Look! A swallow feather! That specimen from Swallow might be around here!"

Crap.

"But there are like, a million swallows around this area, including birds with similar plumage. There's no chance."

"Oh, but look. How often do you see a feather this big? It's practically the size of a swallow! It's no normal bird, anyhow. Let's go find it."

Double crap. Stupid girl!

"Hey, there are some more here, too!"

_Shit,_ I thought angrily to myself. Clutching the shivering girl, I noiselessly ran farther into the woods, when I listened to their footsteps. They're going to the clearing!

"Shit. Swift! Move it!" She raised her face, featureless to me. Can I say creepy here?

"Wha—"

"They're headed to where Kuro and the others are!" Swift gave a little gasp.

"No shit! Try paying attention for once!"

Swift made a _hmph_ sound and wriggled out of my arms. I didn't even realize that I was still holding her. Geez, I'm not a spider, stupid limbs! ***

"You're so mean," she pouted. "I come all this way to warn you, and you act like this to me? Hmph!"

I sighed, completely exasperated. This girl is so hard to work with! She practically has A.D.D., not noticing anything and not focusing on any one topic.

"Look. We have to lead the scientists away from the clearing. If they see Kuro and everyone they might find out that they are +Animas. Then, they'll ship them off to Astar and run experiments on them, like they were going to do to you!" She shuddered again when she heard my words. Ignoring that, I thought about how we could distract them.

"…a hole." _What?_ "You could dig a hole so that they'll fall in, and then I can knock them out, and then we can tie them up somewhere!"

Idiot… "We don't have rope."

Swift suddenly wheeled around and grabbed my shoulders. I jumped. "You have fishing net, don't you?"

"Um…yeah, I do…"

"Then come on!" With those words she promptly dragged me off after the scientists.

* * *

"Are you done yet?" I looked up and saw her head poking into the hole, her features lost to my eyes.

"For the eighteenth time, no!" I glared up at her, pissed that she was making do all of the work.

We hurried far ahead of the lazy scientists and managed to lead a false trail of feathers far away from the rest of the gang. The hole was huge; it could easily fit four, full-grown men and possibly a couple of lions. It was much deeper than it was wide. It was impossible to climb out of, not only because of its sheer height but also because of the slippery sides that I took time to smooth into hard-packed earth. Finally, with my huge mole claws that replaced my fingers and were three times the length of my digits, I meticulously packed a cover for the hole. No stupid leaf, twig, and grass net that Swift made and suggested could possibly fool full-fledged scientists. However, the top caved in.

"Damn," I muttered as I felt the dirt crumble in my palms and heard it tumble into the miniature abyss.

"Okay. We will put this thing on the hole and the scientists won't even notice!" complained Swift. I heard her shake the stupid thing in front of my face and in my pitiable ears. At this rate, I'll be deaf, and then what will I do?

"I told you, those guys aren't stupid! They are scientists, probably PhDs with five Master's Degrees _each_ and several years in the lab—"

"Here they come! Shh!" And with that, she threw the probably extremely obvious and badly-made net on the ground and dragged me (again!) behind a tree.

Soon, I heard voices.

"See, they are leading right up to this point…"

I heard them stop and snicker.

"Who put this extremely obvious and badly-made net right in the middle of the road?"

I cursed under my breath and glared at Swift. She chuckled nervously.

"But the feathers lead her…maybe she's in it?"

"Don't be an asshole; she's a bird. She's probably in the trees near here."

"And that's exactly what she wants you to think! She most likely hid in some hole under this extremely obvious and badly-made net to fool you into thinking that she's in the trees! We'd search the trees and she'll run away again!"

"Well the first time was your guy's faults. You almost had her and you just got knocked out by some person behind you!"

Swift snickered under her own breath, and with a grin I knew it was Kuro who did that.

"…and so, you guys can check what's in the hole."

I bit my lip in anticipation; they'll probably realize that it was a trap! Suddenly, I felt something press in on my chest. It was Swift, worrying as well. I felt my face flush again, and I quickly turned my head so see won't see. I occupied myself in watching two of the figures pacing near the extremely obvious and badly-made net. They muttered and argued with each other, and soon, one pushed the other by accident.

It was a chain-reaction; the one falling grabbed his companion, who panicked and grabbed one of the guys who was actually dumb enough to stand near the hole. _He _grabbed the guy behind him, and the net broke, letting them tumble into the darkness.

I couldn't help it; I burst out laughing. Swift's giggles echoed me as we cracked up at what was probably the most idiotic thing experienced scientists had done at that very moment. All of a sudden, I saw two huge, buff-seeming figures magically appear before me. Swift shut up immediately, and I swore.

"Where the hell did you guys come from?"

* * *

"We are guards for those scientists who you've just put in a hole." They sounded so serious about the topic, it was ridiculous, but both Swift and I knew that it wasn't the best idea to laugh this time.

"You," said one, pointing rudely at Swift, "are the target today." With those words, he brought out what looked like a fat, heavy rope with some kind of stone tied on at the end. Without warning, he lunged at her.

She screamed as she saw him running towards her, swinging the rope around like some retarded cowboy. In an instant, I shoved her out of the way and took the hit. It struck me across my temple so hard I was surprised that my skull didn't shatter. I guess I have a hard head.

"Rez!" she screamed as I skidded into a large, solid tree. Shakily, I got up, blood dripping down my face. The man turned to me and said, "I guess we will take you too." He ran towards me again.

I heard Swift beginning to panic. I was itching for a fight, though. I hadn't had one since Kuro took me from that stupid old town where I fought the local boys. With a grin, I snapped on my goggles and morphed my gloved hands into 7-inch long claws. Then, I dug into the ground and kicked up the dirt behind me, covering the hole. This was where my 'vision' came in handy. I listened from my tunnel underground and felt the vibration of the guard. He was thumping around noisily, then finally stopped right above me.

"There!" I yelled and burst out of the ground. I dug an iron-toed boot into his face and sent him flying into the forest. I cracked up again, proud of my accomplishment when I realized that the other guy, who was much taller and twice as wide, was coming at me with a large club. I braced myself for a hit on the head again, planning to jump away as he swung. This gorilla was smarter though, as he used the club as a distracter when he drove his fist into my stomach.

I gasped and hit a tree trunk, and then sank to the ground.

"I don't know what he was thinking, taking you. You'd just cause more trouble. They want birds, not rodents! Come, girl, cooperate or you'll get it like _he_ did." I supposed he pointed in my direction as I breathed hard and tried to recover.

"No! I'm not going with you!" I heard Swift's wings unfold as they took her into the sky. The man seemed transfixed, as he gaped at her. She fluttered over to me. "Rez!"

I smiled tiredly as I felt her small hands take off my goggles and touch the tender wound on my temple. Suddenly, I had an idea. I whispered it into her ear quickly as the man was still distracted by the floating feathers. I felt her reaction and knew her smile broadened as I told her the plan. Just then, the man recovered from his trance of stupidly staring at the sky and ran forward, club in hand.

"Ready…NOW!"

Swift grabbed me around my waist and hoisted me into the air. Surprisingly, my sight was not marred in the sky the way water did to me. I 'saw' the stupid ape gape again, probably not used to the sight of flying people. Soon, he raised his club as if to protect himself from an air raid in the case that she dropped me on him. But that was not our plan. Instead of letting me go, she flew back a few meters, and then swooped down in a smooth upside-down arc. I readied my feet, hungry for revenge.

"This is for you, you fat-ass bastard!" And in the same way I kicked the last man, I slammed both boots (with iron toes) into his gut. The recoil sent me flying, but I managed to land the fall. The gorilla, however, wasn't so lucky. He stumbled backwards, gasping the way I did, and fell into a large, convenient puddle behind him.

We doubled up in laughter once more as he nearly drowned in a two-meter pool. I saw the other man's figure holding four other figures (the scientists). He glanced at me, then ran over the larger guard, picked him up, and scurried away. My head throbbed but the pain from the punch was beginning to fade. I sank down, my back against a tree as I tried to recover. Swift silently moved my goggles again, this time placing them on the ground, and began to wrap my head with those bandages that she always seemed to have an abundance of. When she finished, the wound already seemed to be getting better. I felt her hand rest on my face and her sweet, short breathes which meant that her face wasn't far from mine. Slowly, without even thinking, I reached for her cheek and brought it to my own face.

The kiss was small and harmless; a single peck on her tiny mouth was all it was. She jerked in surprised but didn't resist. When it was over, we gazed into each other's eyes. Well, at least she did; I was still looking at a face with nothing on it in my own vision. Suddenly, the moment became extremely awkward. I coughed and she stood up abruptly.

"Well, it's about time that we get back to camp. I bet they're all worried about us," she said in an unnaturally loud voice.

"Yeah…"

I stood up and walked with her down the path. It was awkwardly silent between the two of us. Then, she said quietly, "Thanks for saving me."

I realized that, after hearing her soft voice, her personality changed with the events. She was loud and fun, a goof but graceful in the sky. Yet here, she became small and meek, afraid of everyone and everything. I felt anger after discovering that, and I aimed to change it. Just then, I remembered she thanked me and replied, "Of course I would save you. You're my friend and you saved me from getting in huge trouble like last time!" She giggled at the memory, and slipping her hand into mine, she walked. Straighter, taller, and more confident.

_Friends, huh…

* * *

_

"You've _got_ to be kidding me! You guys are _still_ asleep?" Even after forgetting the fish and going to catch them again, the four lazy +Anima were still slumped on the dirt floor.

Swift walked up to me and whispered, "You might want to cover your ears." Realizing what she was about to do, I clasped both of my gloved hands to my ears. Then I heard her take a deep breath and holler, "YOU GUYS BETTER WAKE UP NOW UNLESS YOU WANT ME TO DUMP YOU ALL INTO THE DAMN RIVER!" I still winced as my poor ears took the high-pitched screech. I swear, one more scream and I'll never hear again.

The effect, though, was hysterical. What was probably Riley and Koh jumped up, their ears and tails and claws popping out; a low growl came from their mouths. What looked like Tsume did the same thing, but Kuro, the last one, rolled over and yelled back, "SHUT THE HELL UP AND LET ME SLEEP, DAMMIT!" Swift nudged me, and together we threw her into the river. She screamed from the sudden contact and flew right of the water.

"Who did that?" she snarled, facing our direction. I pointed to Swift and upon looking at her, she was pointing at me. "YOU!" she screamed, and she chased us around the clearing, her furious and very damp, the rest of us laughing so hard that tears were streaming down our faces.

_ Friends…huh…_

**Hey! It's kurochanwithwings, and boy, was that a lo-o-o-o-ong chapter!**

**I want to thank all of my reviewers for reading so far: Tricytal, Jonzz, Kaykat, KitsPokePeople, sprggy1, Mouchies, KisasShadow, 741852AuthorNicolaStarlaLili, and TearsOfNightfall. Wow, that's everybody! Thanks for your comments, your constructive criticism, and your advertisements for your stories! I love having fanfiction to read…though that takes away time from actually writing…**

**While Kuro and her friends are running around screaming like little kids, they won't be commenting here now. =_= *looks out the window watching Kuro waving her sword thingy at Rez* **

**And to those who just read, please give me a review so I know what you think of my chapter! Please please please always please leave a review after finishing reading. I appreciate it!**

**I decided to update according to the number of reviews. So, five reviews equals a new chappy, kay? Kapeesh?**

**And that mystery guy in the last chapter…I actually might not put him in so if I don't use him, at the end of this whole thing I'll put down who I had intended him to be, kay? Kay. As every Fan Fiction author says, please read and review!**


	8. Author's Note

A/N

Sorry to disappoint my readers but I probably won't be able to update at all this summer since I'll be on a trip for the majority of the vacation…

I'll probably start updating again sometime in late August or September.

Please don't forget me! *bows*

~kurochanwithwings


	9. Cat Fight! The Mad Anima

**Hi! So here's the next chapter, guys! Yay! *throws cheap confetti***

**And in chapter 6 (Three new +Anima) I wrote that Kuro's new +Anima markings were on her neck. I decided to move them to her forearms, so please remember that, okay? **

**To add, this chapter is for Kaykat, who helped me develop the two Kim-un-kurs. Love you! *gives her ****Black and White**** merchandise***

**Enjoy!**

"Rise and shine, friends!"

I groaned as Swift's high voice (her alarm voice, she called it) cut through the air. I wouldn't be surprised if she was a bat +anima too. I glanced at my buddies and was surprised to see them still sleeping like the dead. Swift, annoyed, walked over to them with a marker in one hand and a small crab in the other. I did not want to know. Wait, where did she get that crab…?

I suddenly remembered the events that had happened yesterday. Meeting Riley and Koh, breaking my feathers, my new +anima…

I first whipped out my black wings and whimpered in pain. Right then and there, my friends' eyes snapped open and hurried over, their faces full of concern. Despite the pain, I cracked up; Swift had done her job. Except for the Kim-un-Kurs (I guess to respect them), the +anima had black scribbles all over their cheeks, chins, and foreheads. Rez had the crab dangling on his nose. Swift seemed annoyed that her alarm voice failed to wake the gang up but hurried to my side to offer any needed aid. The marked ones (namely Tsume and Rez) seemed confused at my laughter while Riley and Koh laughed along with Swift and me.

"Your...faces...nose...," I managed to choke out before giggling hysterically and pointing.  
Rez finally realized that there was a crab on his nose. With a startled cry, he pulled it off. The poor thing looked bewildered as it scurried away. Tsume pointed and snickered at Rez's face paint before realizing he had some too.

As the laugh fest drew to a close, the pain in my wings seemed to hit me and I winced again. My friends drew close as Swift broke away to examine the wings.

"So how bad is it?" I asked anxiously as she finally sat up.

"Pretty bad," she replied. "About eight of your feathers are bent and broken. I'll pluck them out so new ones can grow back in."

"What am I, a dead chicken?" I muttered as she pulled the feathers out. They bled a little but stopped quickly.

When she finished, Tsume asked, "How long until she's healed?"

"Most birds would take a few weeks to grow them back, but-"

"Weeks? What the hell-," I complained.

"I said birds, Kuro. Are you a bird? No. Now shut up and listen."

I pouted as she spoke again.

"As I was saying, most birds would heal in a few weeks but since Kuro is a +Anima, it would probably be, say, six days till she's good."

"Six days? That's a long time," I wailed.

"Better than three weeks," Swift retorted. As she stood up, she said, "There's a small town nearby. Since wounds heal faster in the form you got them, keep your wings out. _And_ because you should do that, the boys and I will get some supplies while you stay with Riley and Koh. Got it?"

I nodded. But the thought of not flying for nearly a week was completely and utterly insane. I've only been a +Anima for less than a month (including the trip to Astaria from Sailand) and I can't even remember how I got by for thirteen years without wings. As I was lost in thought, I felt a soft nudge on one of my forearms. I looked down to find Koh quietly tracing the swirling lines of the tattoo-like mark. _Wait…were they there before…?_ Then it hit me.

I gently moved Koh aside and stood up, finding the trio packing their things for the trip. "Wait, wait!" I called. They looked at me as I ran over to them.

"Do you remember this from yesterday?" I asked, sticking out my bare, marked arms. Swift's eyes widened, Tsume grinned, and Rez looked very, very confused.

"What? Why is she sticking out her arms? Remember what?" Rez asked.

"It's Kuro's new +Anima," Swift replied.

"Eh-?"

Tsume examined my new markings while Swift and Rez bickered. Suddenly, he leaned forward, his lips near my left ear. I blushed as I felt his breath blowing aside my dark hair. _Eh? Eh?_

Then he spoke.

"Pretty kitty," he whispered.

I jumped at the sudden sound of his voice and then realized he was teasing me. I blushed again, this time for an entirely different reason. I silently backed away and held up my hands, signaling him to wait. Then, I walked over to Swift and Rez who were still arguing about something and asked the mole +Anima if I could borrow one of his (iron toed) boots. Now both boys looked confused as I pulled off my right traveling boot and put on his corresponding shoe. _It's so heavy,_ I thought in surprise, _how the hell does he even walk in these things?_

I clomped over to Tsume again and watched his confusion turn into suspicion. But before he could react, I swung my right foot and kicked him in the shin with all the power I could muster.

His scream of pain was very satisfying.

* * *

The Kim-un-Kurs and I saw the other three off as they started their trip to town. Tsume was swinging on his crudely-made crutches while muttering curses and threats to himself.

As if nothing happened, I called with a big smile, "Take care!" Swift returned the grin and Tsume gave me a cold-hearted glare. **(Just if you were wondering why Kuro nearly broke Tsume's leg, she, like me, hates stupid nicknames so she, like me, injures the source.)**

**Approximately ten minutes before departure**

_"So, what am I going to do about the markings?" I asked._

_ Swift seemed to ponder it for a bit. Then, she replied, "Maybe we can get some arm bands. But we need the money for food and et cetera, so just cover them with bandages or something for now."_

_ "Sounds good to me," I replied._

_ "Okay, but we are running out of those too because _someone_ had to break Tsume's leg!"_

_ "Hey, he started it."_

**Back to real time**

Koh tugged at my arm again, pointing at my markings with a strange expression on his face. I looked down, confused, until Riley's voice broke the silence.

"There's something wrong with that +Anima," she said.

"Huh?"

I thought she was joking, but Riley adopted the look that was on Koh's face and the two of them stared at me. I felt extremely uncomfortable and focused on the markings on my forearms. The slender black lines swirled and twisted their way from the base of my wrist to the crease of my elbow. Riley, now looking frustrated by my lack of concern, spoke again.

"Koh tells me that the aura of the cat +Anima is…_dangerous_. Like I said, something's not right about it."

I was confused. "What do you mean by 'aura'?"

Riley wrapped an arm around her brother's shoulders. "He…has a special ability."

"An ability? Like what?"

"He's pretty much a psychic. Yes, he can see spirits, but that wasn't uncommon in my tribe. Rare, but not unknown. Likewise, he can sense the nature of other's +Anima, the personality of the animal that +Anima were received from."

"Wow…" I was awed. Swift can see +Anima, Tsume can read minds, Rez has special 'sight', and now Koh…

"_So_, what I'm saying is…he thinks something was wrong with the animal you got your +Anima from," Riley finished.

"Should I try it out?" I asked. "Maybe you'll be able to tell whatever is wrong with it."

Riley was hesitant. She walked over to Koh and planted herself in front of him. "Alright, go for it."

"You have to protect him from me?" I muttered to myself as I focused on the cat +Anima. Instantly, black cat ears appeared on the top of my head. A long tail unfurled from the base of my spine, and long, sharp claws grew from my fingernails. I felt strong and powerful, completely forgetting the wings on my back.

"I don't think anything's wrong, Riley. And-"

I knew, right when I said those words, something _was_ wrong. That strong, proud feeling seemed to tug at my mind in an uncomfortable way. My head began to throb. _What's going on?_ I thought, panicking. _Why do I feel like this…like something's trying to take over me_…

_My, you catch on quickly._

I froze.

_Who…no, what are you?_

The new voice in my head seemed to chuckle. _I am the +Anima of the cat._

_How are you speaking to me? What are you doing? Why?_

_I am a cat. Cats are proud, strong, stealthy. We do not take orders from anyone, not even _YOU!

I was beginning to feel frightened. _You are a +Anima! I don't know how you are doing this, but you were supposed to save my life! That's why +Anima are born! I drew you in! I needed your help! You saved me, but now you are trying to take over me? My mind? I'm going to shut you down right now and never use you again!_

I began to focus on my human self when the painful feeling in my head hit me again.

_Now, we can't have you do that, can we?_ Suddenly, I felt push in the depths of my mind. The cat +Anima was trying to take control again.

"NO!" I screamed. "Get out of my head! Get out, do you hear me?"

I tried to look at Riley and Koh. Their faces were full of confusion and fright as they watched me. My vision began to blur.

"NO! No…"

"Kuro, what's wrong? What's happening? Get a hold of yourself, Kuro! Kuro!"

_I'll ask again, what are you? _I thought, my conscious fading.

_I? I am a mad +Anima._

With that, I fell into a blissful darkness.

**Riley's POV**

As soon as Kuro said nothing was wrong, she froze up. Her clawed hands clutched her head tightly, her silver eyes shut. The scar on her left eye seemed to glow as she began to shake.

I tried reaching her, yelling at her, doing everything I could think of while she trembled in front of me. Koh peeked out from behind, his grey eyes narrowing. Suddenly, Kuro screamed.

"NO! Get out of my head! Get out, do you hear me?"

She tried opening her eyes. To my surprise and horror, the silver pupils glinted dangerously.

"Kuro, what's wrong? What's happening? Get a hold of yourself, Kuro! Kuro!" I screamed back. "Who's in your head? What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, she stopped shaking. Her eyes fought to stay open, as if she was falling asleep and was trying to stay awake. Right before she closed them, she mouthed, _mad._ She stood up straight with her head drooping. I was frozen in place, unable to move forward. She lifted her head again and smiled, a cold, evil smile. "K-Kuro…?" I choked. Then she opened her eyes.

"Oh no…" I whispered. Her eyes had turned a pupil-less ice-blue, a sign that she was no longer in control.

* * *

"Koh, move!" I managed to push my brother aside in time as Kuro...no, the cat +Anima leapt forward, slashing her much longer claws. She moved strangely, as if her lower body was the only thing supporting her. Her torso drooped and her arms dangled in front of her. As an immediate response, Koh and I brought out our own +Anima. With my enhanced eyes, I examined Kuro and gasped as her wings, slowly but surely, began to shrink. _If she puts away her wings, they may never heal again!_ I remembered what the chief of my tribe had told me, that if a seriously damaged +Anima is put away, it may never heal properly. And that is not good.

I remembered the word she mouthed, _mad. _Suddenly, I understood. "Koh, that +Anima is a mad one! We have to do something!"

My brother nodded with determination in his eyes. But I still didn't know what we could do to help Kuro come back to her senses. _What did Father tell us? He always told us stories about +Anima…think, Riley, think!_ And then I remembered.

**Flashback**

_ "…Mad +Anima are very dangerous. They come from mad animals, like Amurui, the mad bear." Father's strong, young face was illuminated by the flickering fire outside the tents._

_ "Who killed Amurui?" I had asked, my own face lit up with excitement of the story._

_ Father had replied, "The one who got his +Anima from that mad bear. Yes, he was a mad +Anima but he was able to control the insane outbursts from the +Anima."_

_ I was confused. "How do you do that?"_

_ "It is said that you must cover something that connects the +Anima to the animal, like a scar or even the +Anima markings. But the case of Amurui is the only written case of any mad animals, so the theory is not proven to be completely true…"_

**End of flashback**

I thought hard about that story, trying to find any hints or clues. That's when it hit me: _You must cover something that connects the +Anima to the animal, like a scar or even the +Anima markings._ Cover…

"Koh!" I yelled. The boy, who was distracting Kuro, perked his ears but did not take his eyes of her. "Hold her down! I think I found out how to suppress her +Anima!" He looked at me with a confused expression on his face but nodded and began to tackle her.

I let my claws vanish as I searched my worn bag. _There should be _something_ that I could use…wait…oh here! I found it!_ Triumphantly, I whipped out a small roll of bandages. _Not a lot, but this should be enough!_ I heard an angry snarl; glancing up, I saw that Koh had knocked Kuro over and had successfully held her down to the ground. He was stepping on her knees and was clutching her wrists securely so her claws would not reach him. _Wow…that kid's stronger than he looks_, I thought in wonder as I rushed to his aid.

I grabbed her right arm and expertly wrapped the bandage around the markings. The effect was nearly immediate. The claws on her right hand began to shrink and the corresponding eye's color began to fade. "Yes!" I exclaimed, and ran to her other side. But before I could start wrapping her left arm, she slipped out of our grasps and threw the two of us off. I could tell that she was starting to come to her senses, her right hand and eye being proof of that. She clutched her head again, snarling and spitting. Her eyes flashed again from the cold blue to the familiar shining silver and back again. It was as if she was at war with herself…no, with her +Anima. Suddenly, she slashed at Koh, tearing the front of his shirt but not his flesh. He gave a little cry and fell on the ground. Kuro's eyes glinted like steel as she crept forward, her ears and tail flicking with excitement. A grin exposed her long fangs catching the faint sunlight from under the canopy of trees. She raised her arm again, the left one, with the claws on it poised to kill.

"No!" I cried. In that split second I tackled her from the right side, her weakened side, and pinned her down. Koh instantly recovered and grabbed the forgotten roll of bandages that was lying to the side. I sat on Kuro's legs and gripped her right arm as he wrapped the last of the bandages around her left arm. She hissed ferociously at us, struggling to get free. When Koh finally knotted the other bandage, she stopped moving. We cautiously got off of her and watched her as she lay on the ground. Suddenly, she began to shake violently. Kuro jumped to her feet, clawing at the wrappings on both of her arms. But her claws were already beginning to shrink as well as her ears and tail. The tiny stubs of wings that were left on her back started to grow again until they reached their full length. Her eye color changed slowly, from the ice-cold blue to the familiar, strange silver. As she fell to the ground, she looked straight into my own, gray eyes. I laid Kuro on the ground, minding her wings, and a faint smile reached her lips as she fell unconscious.

* * *

**Kuro's POV**

I opened my eyes to find myself lying face-first on the ground. _Um,_ I thought, _why am I lying down like this?_ I tried to get up and immediately felt a sharp pain in my wings. _Oh yeah, _that.

"Don't try to get up yet, Kuro. You're still hurt," said Riley. So there I was, lying piteously in the dirt, trying not to get bugs on my face. Suddenly, I felt something strange on my arms. I pulled up my right arm and stared in wonder at the tightly wrapped bandages on them.

"Did I get hurt?" I asked, remembering what happened when I used my cat +Anima.

She shook her head. "No. They're there for an entirely different reason." Now I was confused.

"I know you're confused. Here, sit up and I'll tell you."

"Didn't you tell me not to sit up like, five minutes ago?"

"I said _get up_ not _sit up._ Now, do you want to know what happened or not?"

"Like they don't mean the same thing," I muttered as I pushed myself up to a sitting position.

She rolled her eyes at my last statement, but said nothing about it and began her story.

**Tells the story of Amurui and mad +Anima (which, by the way, is the last flashback)**

When she finished, I had several questions on my mind. I decided to choose the one that sounded the most important.

"Will I always have to wear these bandages?"

Riley shook her head again. "Not necessarily. But you'll need to cover them whenever you use your cat +Anima. That way, you won't become possessed by it next time you actually use it. And I have just the thing."

She rummaged in her bag, her fox ears relaxed on the top of her head. Then, she triumphantly pulled out two leather armbands.

"Here, put these on," she said. They were strangely elastic but very stiff as I managed to pull them on.

"These are also very protective because they are very strong. And they will cover your markings so no one will stare when we walk into town. That's a plus," she added.

I nodded as I inspected my new protective gear. _I just hope it would last until I at least get to Astar, _I thought to myself. Then, I felt my stomach growl like a bear being poked by sticks. Immediately, I clutched it and blushed. Riley burst out laughing and called Koh. He trotted over with a large bowl of meat broth in one hand and a spoon in the other. Despite my attempt to control myself, I ended up eating every bit of the soup as if I would never eat again. Koh started laughing with his sister, and when I finished, I joined as well. Just then, Swift and the boys approached our camp. They found us rolling on the ground, laughing hysterically like earlier that morning when Swift drew on Tsume's and Rez's faces. Through my narrowed eyes, I saw them looking very confused. But in the end, they started laughing as well. So it was all six of us giggling like mad until tears started flowing out of our eyes.

**Yes! I managed to finish this chapter! *throws more cheap confetti***

**Unfortunately, I won't be able to update again for the rest of the month so look for the next chapter sometime in August or September. Thanks for all of your support, my lovely reviewers!**

**Those who review will receive a plushie of their fave character. Yay!**


	10. The Circus of Creeps: Part 1

After the mad giggling fit, I told Tsume, Rez, and Swift about what happened, and Riley told it from her point of view. Koh didn't speak a word, but he nodded from time to time. They had raised their eyebrows at my new accessories, but said nothing about them.

The air had grown tense when the story was finished. Everyone was mulling over the earlier events. We all sat in awkward silence, listening to the crackle of the fire we were sitting around while swatting away the gnats and mosquitoes swarming above our heads. Riley's thick, dark ears flicked at the annoying insects, making ominous shadows that fell among the trees by our campsite.

"You know, every time there's an awkward silence, a gay baby is born." Tsume's voice broke the stillness. Rez snickered loudly, and they gave each other a high five. Swift rolled her eyes at the two boys' immaturity as Riley and Koh cocked their heads at the comment. I smiled faintly. I was glad that he changed the feeling in the air.

I decided to take charge again. _Again?_, I thought to myself as I began to speak.

"Alright guys, I think we should figure out what we're going to do from here."

The gang simultaneously turned their heads to look at me.

"Uh…yeah. Okay. So first, let's plan where we're going next." I whipped out a map from my bag, which was quite conveniently lying behind me, and pulled out a pencil from my pocket.

"Um, where **is** our destination?" asked Rez. Somehow, he found my eyes and his opaque blue ones bore into them. For the first time, I noticed tiny gold flecks, probably the sand that had blinded him, reflect the campfire's light. "Since you told me, when you first met me, we were going nowhere…"

"Yeah, why are we even traveling?" Riley piped up. "I mean, I know you saved me and Koh and all, but do we have some _purpose_ for traveling? We came along without thinking, and we don't know where to go. So, is there somewhere _you _want to go?"

My eyes widened at her words. There _was_ a place I wanted to go to: Astar. After all, Marm told me to go there and discover my true self. I realized I was selfishly bringing them along. I didn't mean for them to come. I wasn't even planning on traveling with others. They just…came to me, somehow. As for a purpose, it was to discover my true self, like I mentioned. But I also wanted answers. Why I was living in Sailand if I was Astarian, and why I was a slave if I had 'great power'. _But I can't tell them,_ I though frantically, _at least not yet. I still need more time to sort myself out. I need to figure out what's going to happen. I need…_

Obviously, Swift must have sensed my discomfort because she planted herself next to me and said firmly, to the whole group as well as Riley, "Kuro was full of mysteries when I found her. She told me nothing except for her name. But like the rest of us, she has horrible memories, I'm sure. Unlike all of us, she's still not ready to explain her life's story. So until then, let's respect her secrecy until she's ready to tell us what we need, should, and want to know." Swift winked at me as she finished her speech. "Thanks," I whispered.

"Okay then. Will you at least tell us where we should go?" asked Tsume. He was sitting comfortably on his log, or at least as comfortably as one can get on a dead tree. He slouched in his seat, his elbows resting on his spread knees and his hands clasped together.

From my seat almost across from Tsume, I had a really good look at him. His thick, chestnut hair was down and swept around his shoulders. His muscles were outlined in the dim blaze of the campfire, making me realize how strong he really was. His face was illuminated in the firelight as well, highlighting his firm jaw, his forest green eyes shining, and showing the way he furrowed his brow while thinking, that one dimple in his left cheek…Holy shit. Forget that I just thought that. Oh my word, I didn't even know I was capable of describing someone like that.

"Kuro…?"

I was snapped out of my trance. "Oh, right. Yeah, I was planning on heading to Astar…"

Tsume glanced at the map. "Still a long way. We do have the last two weeks of August and all of autumn to get there, so maybe we don't have to take the quickest route."

"Do you think we can stop near a mountain town on the way?" Riley inquired. "I'd like to try to find my tribe again."

"Will you join them?" I asked back. She looked startled at my question.

"Well—not so much that. It's just that we'd like to see our family again, but we didn't want to be cooped up in the tribe, Koh and I."

"I get you. We can go this way, to Stella, the largest city in Astaria. It's pretty close to the mountains, see…" Tsume pointed at map, and Riley nodded. "Close enough," she remarked.

"Well, I'm going to tuck in, seeing as I'm not much of a help here," Rez said loudly. He stood up and began to walk over to his sleeping bag, avoiding the obstacles with amazing accuracy. But then again, he has his extremely convenient 'sight', so it wasn't that awesome anymore. Except for the fish thing; I really would like to know how he caught fish. **(So would I…=D)**

"Isn't there anywhere you'd like to go?" Swift asked, concern in her voice. Hmmm…

"Nah. I don't know any of the places, and I don't really care. As long as there's solid ground, I'm fine."

And with that he flopped down on his sleeping bag and began to snore. While Riley and Tsume planned our journey and Koh went to sleep as well, Swift pulled me aside.

"What?" I asked.

She had a huge grin on her face. "I saw you."

"Well duh. I was sitting right next to—"

"Don't play dumb!" Her strange multi-colored eyes bore into mine, like Rez's. "I saw you staring at Tsume, like a starving wolf at a fat-ass chicken. Well, a raven. And I don't think they eat chickens…"

I blushed. But before I opened my mouth, the remaining, awake +Anima beckoned us over. I glared at Swift as I walked to them. She skipped behind me, humming a love song.

* * *

The road was long. So incredibly long. Just a wide stretch of dirt and sand and pebbles, winding between the trees on both sides and disappearing into the horizon. It was so long.

We had been walking for four days now. Wake up late, eat a skimpy breakfast, walk, eat lunch, walk some more, eat dinner, sleep. The whole cycle would repeat the next day. Sometimes, we didn't even have food for some of the meals. Four, monotonous days.

We finally reached the tiny village, the first stop on our journey. Or at least a rest stop. We bought, sold, and bargained there, then purchased some bread and sat on a bench, hungrily tearing into the pastry.

Suddenly, Tsume and Swift ran over to the rest of us, holding some bags of food and a flyer. "Here, look at what we found," the wolf +Anima said breathlessly. I took it from him and read:

MASTER BARMEY AND HIS AMAZING CIRCUS

YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'LL SEE!

TICKETS=

3G FOR (3 & YOUNGER) TODDLERS, 5G FOR (4-12) CHILDREN, 10G FOR (13 & OLDER) ADULTS

15G FOR A FAMILY

I looked back up at the two and said, "So what?"

"Can we go? Please?" begged Swift. "Yeah, let's take a break," added Tsume. Riley shrugged, Koh looked hopeful, and Rez looked very lost and agitated. Again.

"Where? Go where?" asked Rez.

"It's a circus," I answered, scanning the flyer. A fat man with a thick walrus mustache and horrible clothes had his arms outspread in the background. I raised my eyebrows.

"Do you guys really want to go? It's ten Gillah for a ticket," I said disdainfully.

"Come on! We've been traveling all this time," Swift protested. "It's been totally boring." She grabbed my arm and looked at me with puppy eyes. "We need some fun in life! _And _Rez can pass as a twelve-year old." The sandy-haired boy scowled in response as Koh gave a rare giggle.

"Why are you guys asking me, anyway?" I asked.

"Well, you kind of found us all, so you're kind of the leader, I guess," Riley remarked.

It was tough. I didn't really want to go, especially the price. It was 55G (50G if Rez _does_ pass as a child). We only had 150G, and the trip would take up nearly half of our money. But…

I looked around me. Swift must have taught her begging face to the rest of the gang because they all bore me down with puppy eyes. Except for Rez, who was completely ignoring the situation. I groaned.

"Alright, alright. We'll go."

"YAY!"

Oh, if only I had known what was going to happen…

* * *

All six of us were crowded on the highest bench in the tent. The main event was about to start, and actors and clowns were scurrying around below getting everything ready. After walking, Swift had said I could put my wings away again, seeing how the new feathers were already growing in.

I was suffering from claustrophobia. Crammed onto a wooden platform, completely surrounded with hardly any escape routes…I felt like a slave again, stuffed into a cart or a room like beaten livestock… I shuddered and tried to focus on the one clown trying to pull out a net by himself.

I glanced at the rest of the gang. They were thoroughly enjoying themselves; Swift was intently watching both clowns and audience, giggling hysterically at the stupid things both were doing. Tsume had put Koh on his shoulders and the two of them were pointing at random things around the tent. Riley seemed a little tense, her ears stiff under her bandana, but she seemed to be okay. Rez, on the other hand, was like a statue. He kept his head down as if staring at the floor, his left foot tapping nervously and his gloved hands tightly gripping the edge of the wooden seat. I felt bad for him; he couldn't see all the colors and features of everything around him, and loud noises like laughter and shouting exploded in his ears. Even overly fragrant smells of candy and snacks filled his equally sensitive nose. I gently wrapped an arm around his thin shoulders and patted his back. Rez tilted his head in my direction and nodded in acknowledgement, but I saw a hint of a relieved smile on his expressionless face.

Finally, the walrus-mustache man walked onto the stage. He was incredibly…_round._ His bright red vest was nearly bursting at the gold buttons, and his belt looked as if it were going to fly off. He wore tiny, round glasses and had beady black eyes that glittered upon looking at the size of the audience. Thick, dirt-brown hair was gelled back with too much grease, and a top hat sat on his head.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Master Barmy's Amazing Circus!" the man yelled out, his voice amplifying in the tent. "I am Master Barmy, ringmaster of this incredible carnival! Now let's get this show on the road. Here's Tiny Tina and her Treacherous Tightrope!"

A petite young woman wearing a turquoise leotard leapt from the curtain behind Master Barmy and bowed, her sequins sparkling in the spotlight as the audience cheered. Then, she swiftly climbed the ladder to the rope, which was frayed in some parts, scorched in others, and damp for the rest of it. Her aquamarine lips smiled as she waved to the crowd who was beginning to shout warnings. Within ten seconds, she danced across the damaged rope and did a pirouette on the other side. The audience went completely wild. Then, she walked across on her hands, did flips, and even dangled from the rope.

"That thing is rigged," I muttered to Tsume, who was eagerly shouting with the crowd. He grinned at me as Koh looked down, seeming a bit confused.

"I bet there's another rope underneath," he whispered back, and we snickered at the thought of the cheating circus.

And the show went on. Clowns beat up each other for the dumbest things, acrobats flew around in the air, making the crowd gasp, and animal tamers stuck their heads in giant cats' heads. It was funny, because one of them tried to chew on one of the tamer's large, bulky hat. He screamed like a girl and the audience roared with laughter.

The main event lasted for about two and a half hours. The gang was talking rapidly about everything, and even Rez described the acrobats from his perspective. "Alright guys," I interrupted, "are we done now?"

"No!" exclaimed Swift. "You see all of those smaller tents? They have events in there, too!"

She grabbed my arm and we all walked around, looking at the posters advertising the tents. "Hey, the ringmaster is in here," said Tsume. We stopped in front of a bright red tent. A poster in front of it read, 'The Mythical Creatures of the Legends: Here!'

"Ooh! It says there are a mermaid, a vampire, and a centaur!" yelled Swift. I winced. "Swift, I'm right here…" I muttered. Rez, who was standing right next to me, winced and murmured, "My poor, abused ears…" He clamped his hands over his head and shuffled a few feet away. Oh…kay…

"Come on, let's go!" My arm still firmly locked with Swift's, she dragged me into the tent, the rest of the gang trailing after us.

* * *

"Are they actually going to show these creatures?" Riley asked. Her eyes widened at the three large, canvas covered figures on the stage below. Splashes, shuffles of wings, and chain links came from them, making the audience grow louder. "Probably not," I replied, bored. "I'll bet that they just got a bunch of poor blokes with no lives and forced them into costumes. There's no way they have the actual creatures of the legends. They don't even exist!" Tsume and Swift nodded in agreement, but Rez spoke up.

"You know, they very well look like them," he muttered. "Four hooves and a human body in the first cage to the left, something upside down in the middle one, and something that looks like fish in the tank." Before we can reply, there was a '_Poof!_', some pink smoke, and laughter.

"HELLO EVERYBODY!" The fat ringmaster yelled cheerfully at the crowd, who roared with laughter in response. "Today, you are all about to see something very rare, very unusual, and completely uncommon! These three beasts are the main attractions of this circus!"

"Oh really," I murmured to myself, "I thought the main attractions were the Great Dancing Apes. Oh wait, those were the huge assistants trying to put out the elephant that caught on fire…"

"First, we have here…the mighty Centaur! He once roamed the Moss Mountain Range, a beautiful stallion galloping free in the fields! Voila, the Centaur Earl!"

Barmy whipped the canvas off of the first cage and the sound of the chains amplified. Then, there was a flash of light against the metal and I saw one of the most insane things of my life (so far).

The human part looked like a seventeen year old boy, with reddish brown hair and startling blue eyes. He had a strong, muscular torso which caused the teenage girls blush. Swift and Riley seemed totally unaffected. Rather, both stared at him with a strange seriousness, and the centaur stared back.

The horse part was the same color of his hair. His flanks were toned as well, and he was well-groomed. The horrible part was that there were chains, on his wrists, neck, body, and all four of his ankles, securing him completely to the small, metal cage that contained him.

"Behold! The Centaur Earl!" _Ooh's_ and _ah's_ echoed through the tent as the audience clapped, mouths wide opened and eyes popping.

All six of us ceased cheering as we gazed upon the 'Centaur Earl'. I felt a strange sensation from him, familiar, but couldn't place my finger on it. Swift's eyes widened, narrowed, then opened in recognition. "Kuro…" she murmured, but that was all I could hear as the crowd roared their approval.

"Next! An incredibly horrible creature, dwelling in the deepest, darkest caves of a hidden, rocky mountain, said to live off the blood of humans…The Vampire Lord!"

The second sheet was flung off by the fat ringmaster and revealed another young man, no older than the 'Centaur Earl'. He hung upside down in a cave-like cage, wrapped in a black cloak. The ends of it were attached to his feet. All of a sudden, he opened his arms in a quick movement, creating that familiar image of a vampire. His eyes, which flickered towards the group and I, were glowing a yellowish gold, and bat wings appeared in a flash. His ears grew long and pointed.

There were quite a few screams. Mothers held their children close and teenagers clutched one another in visible fear. Sweat beaded on the men's brows as they tried to stay brave in the presence of the 'vampire'.

"Kuro…" This time, Tsume whispered to me, but was interrupted by Barmy.

"And now…captured in the Southern Seas, this amazing creature captivated sailors and crashed their ships…The Mermaid Princess!"

The last canvas sheet slid to the ground, revealing a large, round tank. Inside, fake seaweed and coral decorated the pebbly bottom. It looked very much like a fishbowl.

But inside, there was a young girl around Riley's age. She had long, silvery blond hair that curled around her body and floated in the water, and she gazed upon the audience with clear blue eyes. Pearls adorned her head, ears, neck, and even her silver-scaled tail. Large fins protruded from each side of her hips and one on her back. Three slender slits were visible on the sides of her neck. Obviously, 'Master' Barmy had cared about this one the most.

As I watched her, enchanted, she looked around until she saw me. She glanced at me, then back at Barmy. He caught her eye and gave her a short nod.

"Beware, young men, do not stare into her eyes for too long, lest you fall under her spell," said the ringmaster, wiggling his fingers and widening his eyes for the effect. The teenage boys of the crowd who were blushing at her appearance (including Tsume, I noticed with annoyance), jumped as if they were in a trance (which they probably were) and averted their own eyes.

The gang and I slipped out to the back where people weren't crowding so much.

"Kuro, I—" Swift and Tsume blurted out at the same time.

"One at a time, please!" I exclaimed in response, holding up my hands.

"Alright, I'll go first," Swift said triumphantly. Then, her expression turned serious. "Kuro, I think those kids were +Anima!"

"Yeah, I picked up their thoughts," added Tsume, "But they kept thinking about other +Anima. Then, they noticed us—"

His statement was cut off by a loud, whistling sound that suspiciously sounded like a club.

Which it was. Behind us loomed five of the enormous gorilla-like assistants of the ringmaster, who was slowly approaching our group.

"Hmm. Six +Anima. A nice catch for today," he said, a sinister smile growing on his face.

Suddenly, I heard Tsume's voice.

_Kuro, he wants to capture us and add him to his circus!_

I swore under my breath and replied, _See? I told you so! I told you we shouldn't have come!_

I saw him roll his eyes as he thought back, _What'll we do?_

What _will_ we do? I couldn't let everyone here get captured! I mean, I'll sacrifice myself to let everyone else escape, but I need another person…

_Tsume! Ask Rez if he'll stay behind with me!_

_Are you freaking insane? Are you seriously going to let yourself be captured?_ He looked at me desperately as the creeps slowly began to close in.

_Shut up and ask!_ I thought so sharply he did as he was told. Rez glanced in my general direction and nodded.

_He says yes. So what's the plan?_

I quickly sent my thoughts to Tsume, who willingly 'told' everyone else. Right when the circus bastards lunged, my plan was successfully initiated.

Swift spread her wings in a flash with Koh in her arms. Tsume and Riley leapt through the wall of idiots in their +Anima form, which gave them strength and speed. Rez slammed at the ground with his bare fists and cause something like a mini earthquake, making the assistants stumble and buying precious time for the great escape. I myself had lunged back at the ringmaster and promptly sat on him. It was slightly nasty seeing how I _bounced_ on his incredibly round stomach. He tried to flip over so I let him, then sat on him again. His limbs flailed uselessly under my weight.

When Riley and Tsume vanished into the forest and Swift and Koh a speck in the sky, Rez stopped hammering the earth. We let ourselves be taken without a complaint. Before they knocked us out, Barmy hissed in my ear, "You little bitch." I whispered back, "You obese schmuck." There was pain and then there was nothingness.

**Wow~! Eight pages and over 3,500 words! Looooo~oooong…**

**I originally was going to continue this chapter, but I decided to put it in the next one, seeing as this is so looooooong…..**

**AND there's a poll on my profile. Who's the most popular ****Black and White**** character so far? Please vote for YOUR favorite character now!**

**Every author (or in my case, authoress) loves reviews, so please oblige!**


	11. The Circus of Creeps: Part 2

**Hey, I'm back with another chapter! To be honest, this isn't my best chapter so far, but I'm pretty sure the next one will be better! Which is already formed in my head!**

**Oh, I am so cruel to my cast…especially Kuro…*evil laugh**

**Kuro: What…are you planning…for me….**

**Wings: *muttering to herself in front of her laptop**

**Kuro: Hey! Answe— Ack! No…! *sucked into a vortex**

**Everyone else: Kuro!**

**Wings: *continues to mutter evilly**

**Everyone else: *sweatdrop**

**Yeah. So anyway, I've realized I keep forgetting disclaimers. So!**

**Everyone else: Wings of Silver Rain does not own +Anima. Unfortunately, she owns all of us and the plot. Why, God, why?**

**Wings: *pissed**

**Everyone else: Noooo! *gets sucked into another vortex**

**Enjoy!**

**Rez' POV**

**

* * *

**

When I came to, my head was throbbing. I slowly reached up and dug my hand into my mane of hair, feeling a tender bump. Wonderful.

"Are you awake?"

I jumped as I heard the voice of a young woman. Tilting my head in her general direction, I saw a figure with long hair standing in front of me.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm the mermaid girl. Can't you see that I am?"

I hated those kinds of questions. Even though I know it doesn't mean literally seeing, I missed color and details and seeing my own self.

"Does it look like I can see?" I snapped tartly, looking straight into what I was pretty sure was her face.

She seemed confused for a moment, tilting her own head at my words, then put her hand to her mouth in recognition.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

I flapped my hand at her. "S'alright," I replied.

"I'm Mariah. What's your name?" the girl asked.

"Oh, I'm—"

Suddenly, I remembered something.

"Where's Kuro?" I yelled.

"Kuro? Is that her name?" Mariah asked. "Your girlfriend's over there." She pointed.

"Oh, thanks—Wait! She is _not_ my girlfriend!" I felt the blood rising to my cheeks as I straight-out denied her statement.

Mariah giggled. "You're so cute."

Just then, I heard Kuro stir. "Mmm…"

I hurried over to her, deftly leaping over unidentifiable objects that were scattered all over the ground. "Kuro? Kuro! Are you okay?" I ran my fingers through her hair, checking for any head wounds. Under my sensitive digits I discovered a small but hard lump near her left temple. She winced when I touched it. "Aw shit, my head…"

Groaning, she slowly lifted herself up and put a hand to her temple. "If this headache doesn't disappear soon, I'm going to eat someone alive."

I sat back down on the wooden floor, closed my eyes and sighed. Good. She's alright. Suddenly, I heard Mariah giggle again. "I can't believe it. You two are so freaking adorable it hurts my eyes."

"I am _not _her boyfriend," I snapped. "What's with you?"

"Um, Rez? Who's she? And what's she talking about? Boyfriend? What?" Kuro asked as she turned to face me.

"She's confused? So you two aren't—?"

"NO!" I shouted, exasperated.

"What—"

"Nothing, Kuro, nothing."

Mariah sighed and sat down on a festively decorated chair. "Well anyway, Kuro, was it? I'm Mariah; nice to meet you." She stuck out her hand and Kuro automatically took it.

"Aren't you the mermaid girl?" she inquired.

"Yup."

"Where are we, anyway?"

"My tent. This is where I stay."

"Wait a second…why were you looking at me during the show? Then you looked back at the ringmaster…"

I listened in on their conversation and was confused at the raven +Anima's statement. She was?

"Well…," murmured Mariah, "there's a reason for that…"

"You." Suddenly Kuro's voice became very quiet, but one could hear anger and realization stitched into that single word.

"You. You sold us out, didn't you."

What?

"Well…" the mermaid girl repeated.

"You did! Rez, this is how they knew who we were! She picked us out! She and her other little circus freaks! Your fellow +Anima! How could you do this? Why would you do this? What the hell is wrong with you, you bitch?"

She was screaming now; two more figures ran into the tent, supposedly the other performers in the freak show tent.

"Mariah, are you okay?"

"What's going on?"

Kuro whirled around and pointed an accusing finger at the newcomers. "You guys, too! I saw you look at my friends!"

"What the hell are you talking—"

The taller one stopped talking in his own realization of the topic at hand.

Mariah found her voice again.

"Look, girly," she hissed in a dangerous tone, "do you _think_ we wanted to pick you out? Do you honestly think that we would just go ahead and sell every freaking +Anima in Asteria out to that fat old turd? Listen; he _bought_ me. He kidnapped the boys. We are practically his _slaves_."

She put emphasis on the last word, but as I watched Kuro carefully, something in her seemed to snap. She shakily lifted her hand to her cheek and her shoulders slumped. "Slaves?"

* * *

Slaves. Sailand. The deputy. Marm.

Memories washed over me as soon as I heard that dreadful word. "Slaves?"

I touched the silver scar that tore through my left eye and down my cheek.

The young woman Mariah looked at me in confusion at my sudden reaction, her long, platinum blond hair and sapphire blue eyes shimmering in the dim light. The two men who ran into the room relaxed but kept their fists clenched in case of any violence. But it was a meaningless precaution.

"How did he take you?" I whispered.

Mariah raised a perfect eyebrow but spoke. "I fell off a ship, transformed, and was captured by a fisherman. He took me to the bastard and sold me for 10,000 gillah. That was three years ago.

"Stem, the horse +Anima, was stolen as soon as he became a +Anima and joined me a few months after I was forced into the circus. Kerrin was forced into becoming a +Anima by the ringmaster himself, who grew greedy off the money we made for him. He shut him into a cave for three days and three nights till he emerged a bat +Anima. Last year."

I listened in horror and wonder at the short life stories Mariah told me. "So what are you?" she asked in turn. "If you're interested, I have a plan to escape, but I need to know what kind of +Anima you have."

"Why didn't you escape sooner?" inquired Rez.

She answered simply, "We didn't have enough people for it.

Rez and I glanced (well I did; he just turned to me) at each other, doubt written on both of our faces, but I nodded.

"Raven," I said, and spread my wings, all ten glorious feet of them.

Each wing had pretty much healed by now; no pain lingered from the old wounds. Murmurs of admiration interrupted my thoughts as I saw the three of them gazing at the glossy black feathers.

"You have a beautiful +Anima," Kerrin said quietly. He seemed to be the youngest, no older than fifteen. I blushed involuntarily, then remembered the other +Anima. _That_ one.

"I have another, too." Everyone in the room minus Rez looked up, startled. "You do?" asked Stem in awe.

"Yeah, a psychopathic cat who apparently wants to take over Kuro," Rez remarked.

The three +Anima laughed nervously, probably not sure whether he was joking or not.

"He's right." I clarified, looking seriously at the three performers. "It's a mad +Anima."

Silence.

"I'm a mole," offered Rez.

More silence.

"Fine, then," he said irritably, and stretched out on the cot.

"No. I was just trying to work your +Animas into the plan," said Mariah. "So, here…"

Everyone in the room, including Rez, huddled close as the fish girl detailed her escape plan.

* * *

"But we go tomorrow, after the freak show performance," Mariah clarified as we sat down together.

"So we _have_ to perform?" I groaned.

"You won't have to do a whole lot, Kuro. Just stand there and show your wings," she responded.

"Do I get to—" started Rez.

Suddenly, the door was flung open by one of the gorilla guards. "It's time for dinner," he growled. His thick lips smacked together as he formed the words and his spiky hair wobbled with his head, his overall appearance making me want to snicker.

Of course, I didn't.

"Alright, let's go, guys," said Mariah. She pushed her long, blond hair out of her eyes and headed for the door, Stem and Kerrin trailing close behind her. I sighed and headed towards the door with Rez following behind me in a similar fashion.

* * *

The mess hall, which was actually just one big tent with poorly carved wooden tables, was crowded with members of the circus troupe. Laughter, conversations, and yells were thrown around the area, making the tent seem louder than it actually was. I felt something touch my hand, and I looked down to see Rez clutching it, his grip tightening as he endured the noise. I squeezed back to let him know that I knew how he was feeling.

"You guys are just so adorable," I heard Mariah whisper in my direction. I stuck my tongue out and glared.

"Ah, so here are our new recruits," said a familiar voice. Looking up, I saw a man walking towards us, whom I recognized to be the ringmaster, Barmy.

"Recruited, my ass," hissed Rez, but his comment was swallowed up in the din of the large tent.

"Come with me, children," said Barmy, planting a fat, sausage-like hand on my shoulder. It was sticky with sweat and God-knows-what, and I resisted an urge to shove it off of me and kick him where it counts.

He led us to another, smaller tent. Inside, several boxes were filled to the brim with sequined, sparkly, and shiny costumes. Motioning to two wooden chairs in the middle of the room, he walked over to a small crate and held out a pile of clothes. Then, he brought it over to us and dropped it in my lap.

"So here's the set-up. The other +Anima here are portrayed as mythical creatures, like the centaur, vampire, and mermaid. You two will be doing the same."

"I'll guess I'm some kind of black angel or something, right?" I guessed, crossing my legs and rolling my eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Correct."

"And me?" snapped Rez. "I'm still here, you know. What's a mole going to be?"

Barmy gave a sickly sweet smile, even though the mole +Anima couldn't see it. "I've already figured that out. You'll be the Angel of Death's assistant. Just hold out your claws and make the face you're making right now."

Rez's snarl disappeared and was replaced by a sulky expression.

"So tomorrow, the two of you will be wearing these costumes. The mermaid girl will explain everything else—"

"You mean Mariah," I clarified.

"Who?"

"Mariah. The mermaid girl," I repeated. My look of confusion changed to recognition.

"Sure, Mary. Whatever. You are excused." And with those words, he walked out of the tent with the grace and elegance of an over-fed penguin.

Rez clenched his fist. "He doesn't even know the names of his own workers. What a bastard."

Gently, I placed my hand over his paling knuckles and squeezed.

"I know. But we'll get out of this, soon enough. He won't even hear our names, kay?"

"…Okay."

* * *

The next morning, we were awoken by Mariah.

"Rise and shine, lovebirds!"

I sat up quickly, only to collide with the ceiling at full force. "Oww…." I complained, holding my head and trying to ignore the tender spot on my forehead. A similar thump in the bunk beneath mine indicated that Rez had done the same.

Mariah giggled hysterically as she danced around the room. "It's show time, you two."

My eyes widened in response and remembrance to the night before and they wandered over to the same pile of clothes from Barmy. Then, I sighed.

"Alright."

* * *

"Do I really have to wear this?" I groaned.

"Shut up. I'm wearing it too, so you can't complain. _And _they freaking dyed my hair, dammit," came the curt response from the mole.

My costume consisted of black, fluttering robes tied around my body. Intentionally singed at the end, with my hair tousled and my raven wings spread out, I could tell in the mirror I did look like an angel of death. Rez's was similar, although his wild, sandy mane was streaked with black and silver (after being knocked out when he protested). His long, deadly claws were painted a bright silver, catching the faint light in the tent.

We both felt incredibly stupid.

_At least we get to keep our actual clothes on,_ I thought, fingering the familiar cloth beneath my shimmering costume.

"HEY! It's time!" A bodyguard walked in and led us to the performing tent. Then he picked us up and shoved us into a large glass box. I winced as my face smashed into one of the walls.

"Don't try to escape and don't mess up, you hear?" With those words, he marched away.

"Stick-up-his-ass," muttered Rez.

I was able to glimpse the other +Anima before a canvas was draped over our box. Stem's hooves were once again chained to the ground of his cage, and I noticed that his ankles were raw. Sweat shone on his brow and muscular torso. Next to him, Kerrin wrapped his wings around his body, rattling the links that firmly attached him to his own object of confinement. And then there was Mariah lowering herself into her aquarium, pearls decorating her long, silver hair and and fish tail. Suddenly, my heart beat with anticipation. Will the plan really work? I rapped the glass wall with my knuckle and decided I could do it.

"Ladies aaaaaand gentleman!" I heard Barmy's voice yell out to the audience, the thick canvas muffling his introduction.

"Those who have traveled far and wide to see these magnificent creatures of the world, welcome! Welcome, and be happy, for you have arrived just in time for our new additions! Be awed by my collection and enjoy the show!"

What happened next was déjà vu, since he just repeated the same introduction he had indirectly told us. Sounds of chains, rustling cloth, and water were also muffled by our own cover. And then:

"And here, my good friends, are our newest members. Found lurking at the grave of a newly dead, these two exotic creatures were nearly fought to the death to save the poor soul of the deceased. I present to you: The Messenger of Death and the Reaper of Souls!

Trying not to squint from the sudden bright lights after several minutes of darkness, the tarp was ripped off our glass box. Each of us narrowed our eyes and tried to look as menacing and furious as possible. Loud gasps and screams, even greater than the uproar for Kerrin, traveled through the audience. Even the men cowered on their benches. I wanted to laugh at their misunderstandings.

Then, I was nudged by Rez, his opaque blue eyes wandering aimlessly over my face, and I nodded. While Barmy absorbed the attention of the crowd, I raised a metal rod that was decorating the box over my head as if to break the glass and attack the ringmaster. I twisted my face into an angry expression.

People began to yell, and some started crying hysterically. Following the pointing fingers, Barmy whipped around and widened his eyes. Just as he called his guards, I brought the rod down.

And missed. Dammit, I thought, knowing I looked humiliated and upset at the same time.

Barmy relaxed and smiled evilly.

As quick as lightning, Rez leaped up from behind me and slashed at the glass with his claws. The walls didn't have a chance; the fragile material shattered as if made of delicate china.

The audience began screaming again as I flew out of the cage and soared over their heads. Rez busied himself tearing through metal bars and chains, freeing the other +Anima. Kerrin yelled, "COVER YOUR EARS!"

Before the people registered his warning, I shoved my palms in my ears and watch the other +Anima do the same. I saw Rez roll his eyes before doing the same, which would obviously be futile in his case.

Then Kerrin opened his mouth.

Despite my covering hands, I winced as I heard his supersonic screech echo through the tent, and saw Rez drop to his knees, holding his head. There was little time to worry, though, as we all scarpered. Stem grabbed the dizzy mole and galloped out of the tent.

Barmy and his guards recovered first. Upon seeing us escape, his own face contorted into incredible rage, so strong that I thought I could feel his hate radiating from him. Suddenly Mariah stumbled on her feet, still getting used to her legs after being changed for so long. Kerrin and I both flew back to help her up. Then, I felt something knocking desperately in my mind. I managed to make out the faintest, _Kuro! Let me in!_

_Tsume?_ As soon as I thought his name, I felt his thoughts pour into my mind. _Come on, Kuro, get out of there!_

_Alright, I'm coming, I—_

I didn't get to finish my thought. As I began to fly away after Kerrin and Mariah, I glanced back and saw Barmy holding a large, metal orb that glinted in the sunlight.

"You! I'm not letting you go!" he screamed, and lobbed it at me.

_KURO!_

"KURO!"

My name was the last sound I heard as an incredible pain struck the back of my head and subjected me to darkness.

* * *

_KURO!_

I knew my cry barely reached her as she dropped like a stone, her wings slowly vanishing. The horse +Anima, after setting Rez on the ground, galloped towards her and caught her in his muscular arms. I almost hated myself for not catching her myself.

"Run!" he yelled, and hurried past me. Swift took to the skies with Rez in her arms, while everyone else dashed off. I ran after them, glaring daggers at the ringmaster, who returned the enmity.

After we settled in a nearby forest, the other three +Anima left on their own trip. They bade us good-bye and good luck, and asked us to thank Kuro for her heroic deeds. I nodded numbly and they disappeared into the sunset.

I gazed at Kuro's unconscious face. Her head was already treated and bandaged by Swift and we all sat around her, waiting.

After nearly half an hour, she began to stir. As soon as she blearily opened her eyes, we all jumped up in joy. I had never thought that I would be so glad to see her silver irises.

Soon, we started patting her on her shoulders, congratulating her for besting the ringmaster and asking her how she felt. In the midst of our interrogation, I noticed the look of confusion on her face and that her eyes weren't as clear as before.

She opened her mouth, but I couldn't hear her. Holding up a finger as a 'wait' signal, I turned to the gang. "Guys, be quiet. She's trying to say something."

Immediately, they obeyed and sat down again, eager for her words. I nodded to her and she parted her lips again. What she said was just about the most terrible thing I never wanted to hear from her:

"Who…are you?"

* * *

**Muahahhah…..I've done it. I made my OC lose her memory. Mhmm. I did it. Yup. MUAHAHAH!**

**Kuro: Um…where am I?**

**Tsume: (to Wings) You bitch! (to Kuro) Are you okay?**

**Wings: Did you just call me a bitch? Don't make me kill you off!**

**Everyone: *sweatdrop**

**Well anyway…thanks for reading and sorry for the huge delay…I hate homework and procrastination. **

**Thanks for the reviews, guys! And just so you know, my poll for Black and White's most liked character is still on my profile and will be down by November. So, vote for your favorite character! Reasons? I'm curious to know who likes who ^^ Please cast your votes!**

**And look forward to the grand rewrite of chapter one! Thanks to TearsOfNightfall for helping!**

**Love you all!**


	12. Blank Slate

**Wow, I'm late! AGAIN. *stabs self multiple times with a lead pencil**

**Swift: While Wings is being temporarily emo, she does not own +Anima, making the +Anima cast incredibly lucky.**

**Riley: Indeed.**

**Kuro: What—ah, whatever, I'm tired of asking. Just read on.**

**Swift's POV**

I stared. Tsume stared. Riley stared. Even Rez, who can't even _see_, stared.

At this girl sitting in front of us, holding her head and looking bemused.

"Um…" she said, raising her eyebrows, "can you tell me where I—"

All of a sudden, she scooted far away from us until her back hit a nearby tree. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and her raven wings snapped out and curled around her, as if trying to protect her.

"Who are you?" she spat. "What did you do to me? You aren't taking me back the fields, not after I've come this far!"

Rez held up his hands in surrender. "H-hey," he said, "calm down. We're your friends, Kuro, I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Don't lie to me! You guys are +Anima, right? Only +Anima are the ones who take slaves back to Sailand, because they're forced to! No," she repeated, "I'm not going back. I'm not going back…" Kuro held up her arms in a fighting stance, and her fingers curled into a claw-like position. And slowly, her eyes began to change from their silvery color and round pupils to ice-blue and slits, her fingernails elongating into razor sharp claws…

"No!" yelled Riley. "She's shifting into her cat +Anima! She's going to go mad!" Immediately, she whipped off her multi-colored bandana and revealed her russet-colored ears and let her own hands change into claws, and Rez's hands changed into mole paws. I unfolded my own blue and white wings. Koh dozed lazily several feet away, exhausted from the fight.

But Tsume did nothing. Strange, because he, next to Kuro, was the first to reveal his +Anima. However, he only walked up to her, who bristled and began hissing as her wings began to fade away. She raked out her right hand and grazed his cheek, but still he didn't respond. Her black, forming ears were flat against her head as he gently pushed her hands down. Then, he did what none of us would have ever done: he hugged her.

Tsume pulled Kuro into a tight embrace. She squirmed under his arms but eventually relaxed, her cat features slowly dissolving in mist. Her own arms dropped to her side as she allowed him to hug her.

Our jaws dropped.

* * *

"So Kuro, you really don't remember any of us?" I pleaded with her, squeezing her hand and looking straight into her silver eyes.

She shrugged. "Not a single thing."

Rez sighed in defeat and pushed his wild hair out of his unseeing eyes. Riley said nothing, neatly tying her bandana over her fox ears, and Tsume plopped down and stared at the ground. Koh continued to sleep.

"Well…" She studied my face. I sat still, not daring to move a muscle.

"I remember I was getting off the boat and finally getting here, and I was walking down a path, when…" She snapped her fingers, making us all jump.

"You!" Kuro pointed at me.

I pointed to myself in response. "Me?"

"Vaguely…I remember—you were in trouble with some scientist guys, and I knocked them out."

I grinned in relief. "At least you're not completely blank."

"But what does that do for us, bird-brain?" retorted Rez. "She still can't remember anything after _you_."

I glared at him, which of course, was meaningless. "At least she knows _one_ of us. She can trust us more easily that way, and it'll be a whole less awkward. Well, at least with me, I guess."

Riley sighed and stood up. "So now what are we going to do? I can't even remember where we were supposed to go before the whole circus incident, when _some people_ insisted on attending. Tsume and I jerked in our seats and I felt heat rising to my cheeks. From the looks of him, the wolf +Anima could feel it too. "Hmm?" asked Kuro.

Rez patted her shoulder and shook his head. "You really don't need to know, not that you'd want to anyway." She widened her eyes but didn't persist.

"So anyway," I babbled, trying to change the subject, "what _do_ you remember?"

Kuro shook her head as well. "I want to tell you, but I have this feeling that I really shouldn't. Like, before I lost my memory, I wasn't planning on saying so."

"But earlier, you were talking about slaves," Tsume mused. Her eyes widened again. "We weren't trying to do anything, but you were yelling things like, 'Don't take me back!', and '+Anima do the kidnapping!' and stuff like that. So…" His eyes suddenly opened in recognition. "Kuro, have you been a _slave_?" I saw her wince and look away, her hand touching the faint scar over her eye.

* * *

**Somewhere not so distant, in a very non-stalkerish way…**

A man watched them, crouched among the bushes not too far away from the +Anima children. He was draped almost completely in an old traveling cloak, the only features visible being his evil eyes and the grin of a cat knowing his prey cannot escape.

"Memories are overrated, aren't they, dear Kuro?"

* * *

** Sorry SORRY SORRY SORRY for the shortness of this chapter. I currently am in the possession of the dreaded writer's block, but my situation sucks because I just can't make this flow at the moment when I have the whole story in my head. NO WORRIES I shall never cancel this EVER, but for now don't expect early updated, and this will be on a most temporary hiatus. Again, I am so very sorry. o**

** The poll is now closed; thanks to those who voted! And now, the winner is…*overly dramatic drumroll*…REZ! Surprisingly, Rez is currently the most popular character and while I have writer's block, I'll write another filler for Rez. Review if you want a certain pairing (but I will not write yaoi unless it's just guy time between two guys. Just manly men (HA) being manly.)**

** Runner ups are Riley and Tsume! Review if you'd like another poll; only five people voted so if you didn't get a chance, press that pretty little button on the bottom of the screen.**

** Thanks to all my readers! Jonzz and Kaykat for their awesome support from chapter 1; love you guys! Miyu Hinamori for getting me off my lazy ass, Lolistick for the confidence-boosting review, and , Panda (anonymous), shar12392, and Mouchies for the compliments. *starts throwing giant BlackandWhite plushies all over the place***


	13. Dreaming

Sunlight shone an angry orange and red behind my eyelids as the sun rose and obnoxiously woke me up. Squinting and grumbling to myself, I cracked open an eye…and saw the most incredible shade of blue I've ever seen in my entire life. The first thought that entered my brain? _How the hell can I see this? I'm blind!_ But enough hesitation, I can see!

I picked myself off the grass, the green, green grass, and jumped to my feet. Wiggling my toes, I looked down and saw an amazing orchestra of pure color: tiny red ladybugs climbing the blades of grass, black ants and beetles minding their own businesses under the dark brown soil, pale pink and white earthworms squirming into the ground, and rainbow colored flowers painting the meadow I was standing in.

This has taken 'a feast for my eyes' to the extreme.

I laughed exuberantly, running my calloused fingers through my sand-colored hair. I have never felt this happy before. My sight was back and I could see the world through my own two eyes, and this, I said to myself, was all I needed.

All of a sudden, a silhouette of a swallow flashed in the back of my mind, looking hurt with a wing broken at a strange angle. Not a swallow, but a person with swallow's wings. Swift! My feet began to take me away, away from the colors I missed so much and toward a dark, ominous cave. Not a cave, but an abandoned mine. The sky around it was gloomy, complete with navy clouds and the occasional lightning bolt. It looked like a different dimension.

I broke into a cold sweat, my heart fluttering like a hummingbird's wings.

"Rez! Rez, help me!" she cried from inside. "Please help me, Rez!" I approached the mouth of the mine, somehow unable to respond vocally, but a strange force held me back.

_Wasn't sight all you wanted?_ The words of a foreign voice echoed evilly in my mind. _Wasn't sight all you needed? To see the colors that had evaded you for so long, and nothing else? Why go back into that mine where there is none of your beloved colors, only blackness and blindness?_

_ Because my injured friend in there, and I can't just leave her_, I replied, perplexed at the voice's question. I started to go inside again.

_LEAVE HER!_ the voice boomed angrily. _You asked for sight, and we gave it to you! Why are you turning back on our gift?_

_ I'm only going in to get her and then come straight back out to treat her—_

_ You cannot have one or the other! You cannot have what you had missed and what you love now at the same time! You have a choice—either sight or _her._ Choose wisely._

I froze. Either choose what I had loved or what I love now? What was truly important to me now, colors or friendship? I looked behind me and saw the beautiful meadow, with its vibrant colors and incredible shades, and then looked in front of me at the darkness, hearing Swift's cries. At that moment, I understood my ultimatum—either choose to live in my past, when I could see, or live in the present, with those I love.

_ Choose wisely,_ the voice said silkily. It seemed certain that I would choose to abandon my friends, to abandon Swift, and that smugness aroused the anger within me.

I turned away from the meadow and shot into the darkness of the mine.

_YOU FOOL! _screeched the voice. I ignored it and continued to run, my honed senses aiding me once more in the light-less tunnel. Swift's cries grew louder and louder, and yet somehow…different?

_YOU CHOOSE YOUR PRESENT OVER US? AFTER ALL WE HAD DONE FOR YOU, AFTER ALL WE HAD GIVEN YOU? HOW DARE YOU MOCK US?_

"Shut UP!" I roared in annoyance. "Yeah, I missed seeing everything with my own eyes and not just the general shapes, and I missed seeing color, but Swift is more important than that! She's hurt and she needs me and I'm going to her, no matter what!" I turned one last corridor and saw, in the dim light of a weakly burning torch, a crumpled shape on the rocky ground.

"Swift, I'm here, it's okay now," I said softly, walking up to her side. But as soon as I approached the shape, I realized that it was not Swift, but a swallow. A dead swallow. At that moment it disappeared from my view, along with the features of the tunnel in the soft glow. My other senses kicked in and I felt the tunnel beginning to crumble around me. Something cold and hard touched my hand and instinctively, I picked it up. It was a diamond.

_Rest in peace, you little fool, forever buried with your precious 'friend'…_

I screamed as I felt the rocks crashing down around me, reaching for the swallow's figure, and screamed again as a boulder crashed down on my hand and crushed it. The earth began to swallow me up as it shook my entire body and with it, my soul…

* * *

Sweat dripping from every pore in my body, I jerked away from unconsciousness and blinked uselessly at the sky. Instantly, I sensed another person directly in front of my face, and hearing the gasp of surprise at my sudden awakening, I realized it was Swift.

Heat flushed my face as I quickly turned my head away. Of course there was a conveniently placed rock right beside me, and I ended up smashing my temple on its unforgiving surface.

"Ah, shit…" I muttered as I felt a warm sticky liquid drip down from fresh wound. My head began to throb and I groaned, using my hand to stem the blood. In an instant, my hand was slapped away. I heard Swift sitting in front of me, rummaging in her bag.

"Are you stupid? Do you know how dirty your hands are right now? Covered in dust and dirt and who-knows-what...you're going get your cut infected—"

"Well how the hell am I supposed to see what's on my hands when my eyes are useless? I can't see things like dust and dirt and whatever else is there and at least you can tell what's there and what's not—"

I shut up and suddenly felt extremely self-conscious. My face flushed again and I turned away, unclenching my fists and wiping the blood away on the grass. I tried to remember the green from my dream—or rather, nightmare, but you can't imagine colors you never saw. I felt my eyes starting to water and shut them tight, trying to hide them.

I jumped as a cascade of water jolted me out of my silence.

"What do you think you're doin—gah!" I yelled as another wave of water splashed over me.

She put her hands on her hips. I could imagine an annoyed expression on her face to complete her action and her voice.

"I think you need to go take a bath and clear your mind, then come back and tell me what you were dreaming of," she said. She stuffed a towel (probably stolen) into my hands and walked away.

Speechless, I stared after her retreating figure. Finally, I wheeled around and headed toward the river, muttering to myself.

* * *

"Feeling better?" Swift asked as I walked back, shaking my wet hair. I draped my shirt and the towel around my shoulders and sat down next to her. I could hear Riley and Koh, digging noisily into a small loaf of bread.

"No. Did you go to town?" I asked.

"Yeah, you missed the fun. Some guys in the bar tried to hit on Riley and she nearly went vixen on them. Koh and I had to knock them out and stuff them in a garbage dump before she flashed her claws and everything."

"Well that's sounds like fun," I muttered, squeezing more water out of my hair. I could hear the droplets fall to the ground with a watery thud.

"I stole—borrowed these towels for a reason, you know," Swift muttered as she snatched the said item from my shoulder and dropped it on my head.

"Ugh, fine." I reluctantly rubbed the cloth into my mane, feeling the towel grow damp very quickly. "Ouch!" I hissed. The pain from the wound on my temple hit me again.

Wordlessly, Swift immediately began wrapping a bandage around my head. It stung like hell but I refused to move, not wanting to tick her off anymore.

"Why is everyone always up so early?" Kuro moaned. She was walking towards us, stretching and yawning.

"You're just lazy," Swift replied, tightening the bandage with a sharp jerk. I grunted. "Anyway, Tsume is still out cold."

"Who? Oh, that wolf kid."

"Still doesn't ring a bell?"

Kuro shook her head. "Not at all. Sorry."

"Not your fault, not your fault," said Swift.

I listened quietly, half distracted by the pain in my head.

"Ah, shoot," Swift swore. She was bending over some bundle across the camp.

"What now?" I called, tenderly prodding my temple. Bad idea.

"We're out of food again."

"What? Didn't you _just_ say you went to town?"

"We did! I guess we didn't buy enough…"

I stood up, grimacing. "Well, I'm not going to starve myself out here, so I'm going back to town and buying something."

"Hey, let me come too!" I turned around to see a figure walking towards me. It tossed me something that jangled, and I managed to catch it. I stuck my fingers in it and felt the cool, cold surface of coins piled up inside.

"We don't have much gillah left, but if we split a loaf or something we'll be fine," Kuro said.

"Do we _have_ to share it?" I complained. "I've been awake for a while now and I can hear my stomach beginning to digest itself."

I could hear a note of annoyance in Kuro's voice. "From where I came from, we were lucky to have ONE fist-sized piece of bread, no matter how old it was, to share among about five of us. Don't complain, blondie."

I spluttered. "_B-blondie?_" Last time I had eyes, my hair only had hints of yellow in it. "How blond?"

"Um, like desert sand yellow…if you know what color that is."

I did.

"Well this is disturbing…" I muttered. I ran a hand through my hair and wondered how much I changed since I last saw. I thought about the dream and I shuddered; I'd rather stay blind than ever go through something like _that_ again.

"Oi. Something wrong?" Kuro asked.

"N-nothing…come on, let's go. They'll be out of bread!" I said loudly. And with that, I walked away and right into a tree I completely sensed coming. Behind me, I heard bursts of laughter, and I began to feel another thin trickle of dampness run down my face. Wonderful. I kept my head turned to keep my flushed face out of sight and headed towards the loudest noise in the forest.

* * *

"Are you sure you're alright?" Kuro asked again as she cleaned off the rest of the blood. My face was still warm; I couldn't even wipe my own face, since I didn't know where all of the blood was. If I left even a single speck, I would end up frightening or angering the sellers. Which of course would be bad. My stomach will end up digesting itself and then the rest of my body. I was already slightly doubling over from the lack of food.

Hey. I'm still a growing boy.

"Yes Kuro, I'm fine. Honestly," I lied. Maybe I overreacted to the appearance change? It's just that…a lot has changed since I went blind. That day when my life turned upside down, those smothering rocks and dust and jewels, everywhere, pressing down on all sides of me—

"Oi!"

I realized I was thinking aloud. The marketplace had grown a little quieter and some people had stopped walking and just stood there. I can feel questioning eyes, disapproving eyes, confused and worried eyes, boring into me. At least they could see me and see what I look like now from nearly a year ago. And then I was brought back to earth again because of the reason why exactly they were staring and I ducked my head, feeling my hair fall around my face.

The square grew louder again and I could hear more footsteps join the crowd, gossiping about the latest event.

"Something's bothering you," Kuro said curtly. "Wait here." She trotted off and I could hear a quick exchange of voices before she returned, handing me something warm and soft that filled the air around me with an incredible aroma. But it was whole and I turned to her, gesturing at the loaf. She shook her hands no and I tore into it, like a starving homeless man. Kuro laughed softly and guided me to somewhere more secluded. An alleyway, I guessed, as the hustle and bustle of the marketplace muted behind walls.

I finished the bread in record time and sighed.

"Now tell me what's bothering you," Kuro said. That note in her voice, of frank authority and strength that drew everyone to join her and had been lost with her memory, returned and I flinched. Women can be scary.

I sighed again. "Fine. Well, I had this dream…"

* * *

"…and after all of that, you told me the color of my hair, which wasn't that color the last time I could see. Everything just kind of slapped me in the face today. It's overwhelming," I finished. My chest felt a little lighter after I stopped talking. I was thirsty now and was tempted to ask Kuro for more money, but I knew there was a river back at the camp.

"Rez, do you like Swift?" The question fell on my brain like a two-ton brick.

"W-w-what? W-why would I l-like someone like h-h—"

She crossed her arms.

I groaned. "I guess so, a little." I bit my tongue as I remembered that short, sweet moment I shared with her, a while back.

"Well, I've been told that dreams reflect your thoughts. Obviously you want to see again, and you probably remembered colors and features from the past. You also remembered the moment you became a +Anima, and that's how it connects to the sequence in your dreams. And then the swallow is probably Swift."

"So how does this help me at all?"

"You're worried about Swift. Something happened that caused you to feel this way. The wing was broken? Something to do with her freedom."

I shivered. Her words were uncanny.

"There's a choice you'll have to make one day, or a choice you know you'll have to face eventually. Whichever you choose will have equally significant impacts on your life, although whether they're good or bad depends on them."

"I never knew you were a fortune teller," I said, half joking, half not.

Her voice faltered and she turned away. "I had…a very good role model. Because of who we were, we didn't know much, but she knew a lot of things like these. She taught them to me before she…" She said no more and I noticed her stiffen.

"Are _you_ alright?" I countered.

She sniffled a little. "I know this sounds weird, but I just have this feeling that I can't tell you anything. At least not yet, so please don't force me—"

And at that very moment, a strange figure slipped up behind Kuro and gently tapped her shoulder. She turned around and froze, and a soft whimper escaped from her lips.

I've never felt so much terror emanate from Kuro before.

_A/N:_

_I bet you're wondering right now, "Who is this retard?"_

_I don't know, either._

_First: Rez has a strange dream, and no-memories Kuro explains it to him. OOooOOooh the suspense! Also, I wonder what elements from this chapter is important? OOooOOooh! And Creepy Stalkerish Mystery Man shows his ugly mug, which Rez can't see!_

_Rez: Hey!_

_Ah—sorry…_

_Next: I am so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so (times infinity) sorry. It's almost been an entire year. I've had a huge block of depression regarding a lot of things sitting on my shoulders and I'm starting to shrug it off, so expect more updates from now on! Yay…?_

_After that: I know I said I'll rewrite this, but I've decided I wanted to keep my old chapters and see if I can improve from here on out. Also, if you enjoy the chapters (if anyone ever reads them…) please give me feedback on what you think changed for the better or worse in terms of my writing ability. I would like to see how I've grown._

_Finally: A big fat THANK YOU to ALL of my reviewers, starting from day one. You've all been my motivation, and I'm sorry for letting you all down, and I dearly hope you'll become my motivation again! (Although if some of you never return it's perfectly understandable.)_

_GOUD (Anonymous), Jonzz, Kaykat, Miyu Hinamori, Panda (anonymous), Lolistick, , Mouchies, Shar12392, Tricytal, Julia Lucrezia Hanazono, Tumbleweed Green, KitsPokePeople, sprggy1, KisasShadow, 721852AuthorNicolaStarlaLili, and TearsOfNightfall!_

_So um, please review!_

_~Wings~ flying off_


	14. AN: I'm not dead, but are you?

My lovely readers,

It has been a very long time since I last updated this story. I had started this story nearly three years ago, as a naïve writer who did not understand the concepts of Sues and other fanfiction faults. Now that I am very aware, I have been going through my old stories, and I am not very pleased with how they came out.

But since I've been writing for you too, I would like to know what you want. Would you want me to continue this story as is, or would you like a rewrite of this story? I promise you that the rewrite will be much more developed and better written than the current version of this story.

The plot and such will stay somewhat the same (I need to take out all of the Sue-ness I put in by accident, haha) so there won't be much change, other than that.

I'm glad so many of you enjoyed my stupid little story, though. Even though most of you probably don't read this story anymore (so who am I talking to again?) I was very happy to know that my writing was at least somewhat proficient. So thank you, old readers and new readers, for being awesome to me, especially when I had no idea what I was doing.

Now that I have an inkling of what I'm doing, I'd like to start over. But let me know what you guys want in the reviews.

Oh, and you probably noticed the name change. I'm trying to unify all of my internet accounts, so it'll be easier to keep track of where I am online. Feel free to keep calling me Wings or whatever you called me, or any variation of my new name.

For old time's sake, I'll sign off as Wings.

Love you all!

~Wings~ signing off.


End file.
